"Potential to improve" - Brandon Thomas-Asante worry quashed as West Brom look ahead to 2024/25 | OneFootball

The Baggies will want to gear up for another promotion push, but questions remain over their main attacking threat

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

West Bromwich Albion did well to earn a play-off place last term, but that means another promotion push will be expected this season.

They fell in the play-off semi-final to eventual winners Southampton and were outsiders for promotion in the first place, so it can be chalked up as a relatively successful season, all things considered. But their performance last campaign means another sustained promotion push will be expected this time around.

The one thing they lacked was a lethal striker, with frontman Brandon Thomas-Asante their top scorer with 11 goals. It has led some to ponder whether a greater threat is needed upfront.

Our West Brom Fan Pundit, Matt, has delivered his verdict.

Thomas-Asante should not be written off

Matt believes that rather than seek a replacement for the 25-year-old, reinforcements to complement him may be the way forward.

Speaking to Football League World, he said: “I don’t think Albion need to upgrade on Thomas-Asante, I think that’s an unfair comment.

“But, one reason, as you say, he scored 11 goals last year, he could have got a lot more. However, for each goal, there’s also invaluable play on and off the ball.

“Whether you could bring a player in to complement his strengths and hopefully help better Thomas-Asante, then yeah, that’s another question. “But I definitely don’t think we should be looking to upgrade on him because what he does for the team is very important. “Let’s hope he gets more than those 11 goals next season. There’s definitely potential for him to improve. He’s still a young and inexperienced player who was playing in League Two, two years ago. “So there’s definitely, definitely a chance that he can improve further. So I wouldn’t say we need to upgrade him, but perhaps we can bring someone in to complement his strengths and weaknesses, I suppose.

“So someone who can score goals with a bit more ease, but not someone who, if they go into the team, should take away everything that he brings.”

It's a pivotal season for Thomas-Asante

Whether you believe the Baggies should stick or twist on Thomas-Asante, there's no escaping the fact that this will be a crucial season for his career.

He'll turn 26 during the upcoming season, so he will be moving away from being categorised as a young player, and he also enters the last year of his contract during this campaign.

A haul of 11 goals in the Championship is not a bad return, but for a promotion-chasing side like West Brom, they are likely to want more from their main man. They worked out a way to still achieve while sharing the goals across the squad last season, but that will only lead some to ponder what might have been with a lethal goalscorer.