"Best for all parties" - West Brom told to sanction exit for player with 0 starts this season | OneFootball

Devante Cole has played less than 200 Championship minutes for Albion since joining from Barnsley last summer

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…

Devante Cole’s move to West Bromwich Albion last summer was something of a head-scratcher, and seven months on the forward’s time at the Hawthorns hasn’t taken off.

The former Barnsley man was brought to the club on a free transfer during the previous off-season, with the Baggies having to find bargain buys to add to their squad due to financial issues seeing the EFL impose a business plan on the Black Country side.

Since then, the 29-year-old has yet to start a league game in his new surroundings, and unsurprisingly hasn’t found the back of the net, with game time becoming more and more elusive as the season goes on.

With that in mind, we spoke to Football League World’s West Brom fan pundit Callum Burgess about the Cole conundrum this summer, and what he expects his club should do with the rarely-seen striker.

West Bromwich Albion winter business highlights Devante Cole status at the Hawthorns

With Albion starting the season in fine form under Carlos Corberan, Cole was forced to play second fiddle to Josh Maja for much of the campaign, with the former Sunderland man netting ten times in his first 16 Championship outings.

As a result, his fellow forward was often employed from the bench whenever he was introduced, and even in Maja’s absence over the past few weeks, Tony Mowbray has looked elsewhere for a player to lead the line, with Karlan Grant and Jed Wallace both preferred in the final third.

The signings of Adam Armstrong and Will Lankshear have only acted to push the ex-Doncaster Rovers man down the pecking order even more at the Hawthorns, and Burgess is surprised his club didn't sanction a departure for the out-of-favour frontman last month.

When asked about Cole’s situation, the Albion fan said: “It definitely would have been best for all parties to find a new club for Devante Cole.

“Even when Josh Maja was the only out-and-out striker, Devante Cole found himself being third or fourth choice behind makeshift options up front like Karlan Grant and Jed Wallace.

“Now that Daryl Dike is coming back from injury and Albion have signed the likes of Will Lankshear and Adam Armstrong, there are so many options and Devante Cole will be fortunate to even land a spot on the bench now.”

Devante Cole tipped for West Bromwich Albion departure this summer

With a lack of first-team opportunities coming his way, it would be no surprise to see Cole leave the Hawthorns this summer, just 12 months after making the move to the club.

While he has a contract with Albion until the summer of 2026, a lack of game time makes any future with the Baggies difficult to see, with a return to League One the likeliest option at this moment in time.

18 goals in 46 matches for Barnsley proved he has what it takes to be a decent marksman in the third tier, and with Albion’s experiment with the attacker not working out, Burgess can see a future where he is out the door at the earliest opportunity this summer.

“When Albion signed him I was a bit pessimistic," he said. "Thinking that he has never been up to Championship level.

“He was on the back of a decent goalscoring season in League One, but it is a big step up to where Albion will have been wanting to be competing in the Championship.

“So it is definitely a case of in the summer, I would be surprised if, by the beginning of August, he is still an Albion player and hasn’t at least found a loan move elsewhere.”