West Bromwich Albion are currently struggling for form in the Championship, and with goals hard to come by, some might reminisce wistfully about the times when Romelu Lukaku was firing them in for one season at The Hawthorns whilst on loan.
The Belgian scored 17 Premier League goals during the 2012/13 campaign, including a hat-trick on the final day of that season to sour Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United send-off.
However, even before that, the Baggies could have had a striker who has developed into someone even better than the 29-year-old.
Speaking to the Express and Star podcast, West Brom’s former director of football Dan Ashworth was noting the various players they might have signed in the past, and he outlined one particular player on whom they missed out.
The now-Newcastle employee said: “Lewandowski was another one where a lot of English clubs were looking at him in the Polish league and wondering whether he would have the physicality, us included.”
He continued: “He was on our radar, and we were sort of sniffing around for a period of time.”
This was obviously a proposed move which never materialised, and whilst the Baggies have flitted between the Championship and the top flight in recent years, the Poland international has gone on to dominate world football.
Who would you rather have signed at West Brom?
He has maintained an astonishing goalscoring record for every club he has graced, with his 344 goals and 72 assists in just 375 games for Bayern Munich perhaps his most impressive feat. His proficiency even led to him breaking the legendary Gerd Muller’s record for the most Bundesliga goals in a calendar year.
Having moved to Barcelona this summer, the 34-year-old has shown no signs of slowing down, with 12 goals in his first ten appearances at Camp Nou.
The 134-cap marksman has far outscored Lukaku throughout his club career, with the Polish icon netting 521 times compared to the Belgian’s 267.
It is no surprise that Lewandowski’s former team-mate Benjamin Pavard partnered him with Karim Benzema as a duo who “can’t stop scoring goals”.
Lukaku is looked back upon favourably in this part of the Midlands, but had Albion secured a striker of the quality of Lewandowski on a permanent basis, it could have drastically shifted the trajectory of the club for the better.
