West Bromwich Albion are struggling for consistency during this gruelling winter period. The side’s narrow 1-0 win at home to Norwich City on Boxing Day was just their second in five Championship matches, having also lost twice and drawn once.
Additionally, the only goal of the game came through Brandon Thomas-Asante, who found the net for the eighth time this campaign and is leading the Baggies’ goalscoring charts.
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West Brom could sign £1m-rated “huge talent” to improve Thomas-Asante’s fortunes
West Brom could get the best out of Thomas-Asante this winter by signing this £1m-rated “huge talent”.
The Midlands club have been quite reliant on the former Salford City man’s goals this season but with the January transfer window quickly approaching, head coach Carlos Corberan could look to sign one player that West Brom have been previously linked with to bolster his side’s attacking department.
West Bromwich Albion transfer news – Ben Brereton Diaz
One player that West Brom have been linked to in recent months is Ben Brereton Diaz, with TEAMtalk reporting that the Baggies are keeping tabs on his situation at Villarreal. The outlet are claiming that both Leicester City and Southampton are also eyeing up the Chile international ahead of the January transfer window.
Brereton Diaz spent the last few seasons at Ewood Park with Blackburn Rovers, scoring 47 goals and registering 16 assists in all competitions for the Lancashire club. However, 38 of these goals came in his final two campaigns with the Riversiders, with journalist Alan Nixon describing him as a “goal machine”.
During the summer, the attacker moved to La Liga side Villarreal on a free transfer but has struggled for game-time since joining The Yellow Submarine on a £29k-per-week deal.
The Chilean has seen just 544 minutes of action for the Spanish outfit since the beginning of the campaign which has been spread across 19 appearances in total and he has failed to bag a single goal or assist in his time at the club. Now, a move back to England looks to be on the cards and West Brom should try to shove themselves to the front of the queue for his signature.
How Ben Brereton Diaz compares to Romelu Lukaku
West Brom have been starved of a consistent goalscorer for some time now. In fact, last season, Thomas Asante finished level with Daryl Dike on seven goals in the Championship as the duo shared the club’s top goalscorer award.
This term, Thomas Asante is leading West Brom’s charts once more for the club and has already beaten his tally from his debut season. However, Corberan’s second-most prolific player has been midfielder John Swift.
West Brom’s last prolific goalscorer, in truth, was Romelu Lukaku.
The Belgian titan found the net 17 times in 35 appearances on a season-long loan at the Hawthorns during the 2012/13 campaign before eventually returning to Chelsea, having had a great career since. Nonetheless, Brereton Diaz’s most potent season in English football was even better than Lukaku’s record with West Brom, having converted 22 times from 37 league appearances throughout the 2021/22 campaign.
Additionally, that season, the ex-Nottingham Forest attacker massively outperformed Thomas Asante’s numbers from this current term.
Per 90 Metrics | Ben Brereton Diaz – 2021/22 | Brandon Thomas-Asante – 2023/24 |
|---|---|---|
Goals | 0.61 | 0.38 |
Expected Goals | 0.36 | 0.59 |
Assists | 0.11 | 0.08 |
Expected Assists | 0.07 | 0.04 |
Shots | 2.91 | 2.30 |
Shots On Target | 1.25 | 1.04 |
Goals Per Shot | 0.14 | 0.17 |
Progressive Passes Received | 5.81 | 4.30 |
Key Passes | 0.67 | 0.45 |
Stats via FBref | ||
Corberan could also play the pair together. In his career, Brereton Diaz has been deployed all along the frontline, including from the flanks. In a wide position, he has bagged 27 goals and registered 13 assists in 122 appearances. The Spanish coach can potentially use Brereton Diaz off the left in the absence of Matt Phillips, who is out until near the end of the season, while keeping Thomas Asante up top.
This is a move that could revolutionise West Brom’s forward line ahead of what will be a gruelling second half of the campaign and should certainly be considered by the coaching and recruitment staff.
Having been without a reliable presence through the middle over an extended period – stretching back to the days of Lukaku – snapping up the former Rovers man could prove a real statement signing for those at the Hawthorns.
