After impressing on the opening day with a surprise hat-trick away at Queens Park Rangers, West Bromwich Albion attacker Josh Maja would struggle following up that magic display versus Leeds United at the Hawthorns.
The ex-Fulham man would register just one effort on Ilian Meslier's goal all game, which ended up being an off-target shot at that, and so Carlos Corberan could well be prioritising another new striker in through the door to compete with the 25-year-old, between now and transfer deadline day at the end of the month.
The Championship promotion candidates might well now be targeting this centre-forward as a new recruit, who was even once on the books of Manchester United as a youngster.
West Brom's search for a striker
According to football journalist Pete O'Rourke, West Brom had made an initial enquiry for Preston North End striker Will Keane, to try and bolster up top.
It has since transpired that the Baggies have actually put forward a bid for the ex-Red Devils man, which has been rejected, as per Lancashire Post journalist George Hodgson, as Corberan and Co continue to try and add depth to the striker positions with Brandon Thomas-Asante now at Coventry City.
What Keane would offer West Brom
Gifted his first-team debut at Manchester United when Sir Alex Ferguson was still in charge, Keane's career hasn't been all smooth sailing, after walking away from the Theatre of Dreams for good in 2016.
Last campaign, the experienced 31-year-old did come into his own for the Lilywhites, however, as he now potentially prepares to usurp Maja's starting spot as the lone striker on his arrival to the Baggies.
In 2023/24 in the second tier, Keane would fire in 13 goals for his Lancashire outfit, including this instinctive finish finding the back of the net within the first minute at a stunned Elland Road.
Getting into double digits for the Lilywhites means the 31-year-old poacher has bagged ten or more goals in a league campaign for three seasons on the trot, having very much got back into his goalscoring groove when lining up for Wigan Athletic before moving to Preston, with 50 goals tallied up from 133 Latics appearances.
Player
League played
Games played
Goals scored
Assists
Keane
Championship
157
33
8
Keane
League One
99
39
12
Maja
Championship
46
6
3
Maja
League One
24
15
2
Sourced by Transfermarkt
Maja isn't quite as accustomed to the rough and tumble of the EFL as Keane is, when glancing at their comparative goalscoring numbers, but the former Sunderland youth player will hope his moment in the spotlight in the second tier can come this campaign, after that devastating opening day hat-trick.
He might well have to fight it out for a starting spot in Corberan's team though, if Keane enters in through the door, who fired in a goal every 203 minutes last campaign in the Championship when in the thick of the action.
The five-time Republic of Ireland international also far outperformed his xG of 9.82, with 13 overall strikes bagged instead.
Keane could potentially become even more of a potent finisher at West Brom, therefore, surrounded by the likes of Tom Fellows attempting to put chances on a plate for him, as the Baggies push any lingering annoyance of Thomas-Asante leaving to one side.
Expected Goals (xG) is a metric designed to measure the probability of a shot resulting in a goal.
Even described as possessing a touch "like Berbatov" according to BBC Radio Lancashire analyst Steve Eyre last season, after dazzling in a big win over Coventry, Keane will want to kick on and show there's still a hungry goal machine in his system if he does move to West Brom, even at 31 years of age.
That glowing compliment would have really been encouraging for the ex-Man United man to hear, who didn't quite live up to his hype at Old Trafford as a wide-eyed teenager, but he could be key to Corberan and Co's promotion hopes.
He once had a £92m release clause: West Brom in talks over Styles upgrade
West Bromwich Albion are nearing towards completing a deal for this midfield gem.
ByKelan SarsonAug 21, 2024
