"A gamble worth taking" - Pundit praises West Brom reaction to Thomas-Asante exit | OneFootball

West Bromwich Albion have signed Devante Cole to replace the departing Brandon Thomas-Asante.

West Bromwich Albion have signed ex-Barnsley striker Devante Cole, with Brandon Thomas-Asante leaving the club to join Championship rivals Coventry City.

Cole, 29, has arrived at The Hawthorns on a free transfer after leaving Barnsley at the end of his contract this summer.

Cole scored 18 goals for Barnsley in League One during the 2023/24 campaign, although he only got one in the last 19 games of the season, and did not find the net in either leg of the Tykes' play-off semi-final defeat against Bolton Wanderers.

He is the replacement for forward Thomas-Asante, who has surprisingly left West Brom and signed for Coventry City after the Sky Blues hijacked Hull City's move for the 25-year-old.

Thomas-Asante featured regularly for West Brom under Carlos Corberan last season, scoring 11 goals in the Championship as the Baggies achieved a top-six finish.

The former Salford City attacker joined West Brom after they triggered a release clause of £300,000 in the summer of 2022, and he has now signed for Coventry in a deal worth around £2 million.

Carlton Palmer gives his verdict on Cole's arrival to replace Thomas-Asante

Ex-England international Carlton Palmer has given his opinion on West Brom's decision to replace the departing Thomas-Asante with Cole. He explained to Football League World that Cole is a low-risk signing who could turn out to be a useful addition considering his work rate, availability and eye for goal.

said Palmer.

"Brandon had done really, really well for West Brom - 11 goals and two assists - and they've made a [estimated] £2 million profit on him, but he's signed for Coventry. It'll be a blow for West Brom to lose such a talented player, and to their rivals, but they've moved swiftly and signed Devante Cole, who was a free agent from Barnsley.

"He was out of contract at the end of the season. I mean, he's a free agent, so it's a gamble worth taking. His record is not great in the Championship, but he hasn't played a lot of games in the Championship.

"The last two seasons at Barnsley, respectively, in 2022/23 he scored 15 goals in 45 appearances and last season he scored 18 goals in League One in 46 appearances. He's very durable, he's hard-working, and given the problem that West Brom have had with strikers' injuries, like Daryl Dike, you need somebody who is going to play regular football and be robust. "He's no spring chicken, he's no kid, he's 29 years of age, but he is a strong runner, he is physically strong, so West Brom have signed a player who they know is going to have durability in him, and he's going to play games. "They will be hoping that he can carry on his goalscoring form from League One into the Championship. It's not a risk, given they've got him on a free, but they will still be looking, I would think, to bring somebody in who can score goals. "They will be looking at West Brom's Brandon Thomas-Asante with 11 goals last season and hoping that he can give them as much as that or more as a return, and if he does that, then it'll be money well spent, and an [estimated] £2 million profit.

"We all know goalscorers cost a lot of money, but they have got, like I said, a very industrious, big, strong striker who leads the line very well."

West Brom will hope Cole can find his feet in the Championship

Cole has spent one season in the second tier so far in his career, when he scored one goal in 24 Championship appearances for Barnsley during the 2021/22 season.

Of course, he has scored 33 goals in League One across the two seasons since then, and Corberan will hope he can use the confidence that will have given him to thrive on his return to the Championship.

As Palmer said, signing Cole is a gamble, so if the move doesn't work out, it will not be a huge loss for West Brom, and he could turn out to be a shrewd acquisition if he can find his shooting boots for the Baggies next season.