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One summer signing looks to be an increasingly strange one for the Baggies

This summer's transfer window was surely always going to be an interesting one for West Brom.

Following his takeover of the club from Guochuan Lai back in February, this was the first time the market had been open for business, with Shilen Patel as owner of the Baggies.

Many connected with the club will therefore have been keen to see how many and what sort of deals the American businessman would make, now he was in charge at The Hawthorns.

In the end, no fewer than 11 new players were added to the first-team squad available to manager Carlos Corberan before the window closed on the 30th August.

Some of those signings, such as the permanent return of Mikey Johnston following his excellent spell on loan from Celtic in the second-half of last season, were very popular with West Brom fans.

There were though, some other signings during the summer window made by the Baggies, that will have been more unexpected.

Devante Cole was a surprise signing at The Hawthorns

One of those who was signed by the Midlands club during the summer, was Devante Cole, who arrived on a free transfer following the expiration of his contract with Barnsley.

To many, that seemed to be something of a strange, given the striker's form during his final few months with the Tykes.

Although Cole did score 18 goals in 49 games last season, he ended the campaign in a rather poor run of form.

In his final 20 games for Barnsley, the striker scored just two goals, as they missed out on League One promotion after defeat to Bolton Wanderers in the play-off semi-finals.

With Cole having just endured poor run of form in the division below, there were questions about what impact he could actually make for a West Brom side eyeing Championship promotion.

Beyond that, at 29-years-old, he did not exactly have the makings of a player who could be developed into a longer-term asset for the Baggies.

With that in mind, it could be argued that it is perhaps no surprise that this is not a signing that has so far not worked out for anyone involved.

Devante Cole has flopped at West Brom so far

Having completed his move to The Hawthorns, Cole's first involvement came as a 75th minute substitute in the opening day win over QPR.

A few days later, he was then handed his first start for the club in the Carabao Cup, but was substituted in the 78th minute of a 2-1 defeat away at League Two side Fleetwood Town.

Since then, Cole has not made a single first-team appearance for West Brom, in what look to be ominous signs for his prospects at the club.

With Josh Maja making an excellent start to the season, scoring seven goals and providing one assist in nine Championship matches, there has been no need for Cole in the centre-forward role.

However, it seems as though the 29-year-old is not even being considered as a back-up option, with Corberan seemingly favouring the likes of Jed Wallace and Lewis Dobbin for that job.

Indeed, despite a brace for the Under 21s during the September international break, Cole has only even made the matchday squad once for West Brom in the five games they have played since.

As a result, it is hard to see him forcing his way back into the Baggies side as things stand, since he does not currently look to be in Corberan's plans.

It is also worth noting that with Daryl Dike - who has shown in the past he can get goals at this level - is potentially now just a couple of months away from returning from another long injury layoff.

Once he does return, that will add yet more competition for the centre-forward spot at West Brom, making it even harder for Cole to get into the side.

All of that means the signing of the former Barnsley man, certainly seems to have been rather unnecessary for the Baggies given how things have gone so far.

So with Cole having signed a contract with West Brom until the end of the 2025/26 season, it seems as though this is already threatening to become a rather long two years for the striker.