"A pointless signing” - Barnsley FC fan view issued on Devante Cole amid West Brom struggles | OneFootball

Devante Cole has struggled for game time since his move to West Brom from Barnsley.

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 may have a major sense of regret joining West Brom as the striker continues to struggle for game-time after his arrival from Barnsley.

The 29-year-old had spent three years at Oakwell, with the previous two seasons in League One proving to be very productive for Cole.

After hitting 15 goals in the 2022/23 campaign, the ex-Motherwell man followed it up with 18 last season, albeit most of those came in the first half of it.

Because of his goal record, and with his contract expiring, it’s no surprise that Cole was attracting attention as a free agent, and it was Albion who eventually won the race for his signature.

Devante Cole has struggled to make his mark at West Brom

However, things haven’t really gone to plan for the attacker, as he has made just 14 sub appearances for West Brom in the Championship, and he has failed to score a goal yet.

The arrival of Adam Armstrong and Will Lankshear in the January window means that Cole has fallen further down the pecking order, so it’s hard to see where his minutes will come over the next few months.

With that in mind, it’s natural to wonder whether Cole will regret his move to Albion, and FLW's Barnsley fan pundit Andy Symcox believes that the ex-Tykes man will feel exactly that way, although he acknowledged that he may have benefited financially from the deal.

“To many Barnsley fans, after having a superb first half of the season, some may have felt that Cole would leave in the New Year, such was his contribution, both in terms of goals and his general play," Andy told FLW.

“I have little doubt that he will have had great financial reward in signing for West Brom, but as far as I can see, he has not started a single game for them this season, coming on as a sub 14 times, with no goals or assists to his name, so I would suspect that it’s viewed as a pointless signing by West Brom.

“From Cole’s perspective, finance apart, it resulted in his career stalling at 29 years of age. Given that he has only come on as a sub, I am somewhat surprised he didn’t go out on loan in January.

"But, as the saying goes, he made his bed, so now he has to lie on it - potentially counting his pennies!”

Devante Cole needs to secure a summer move away from West Brom

You can understand why Cole moved to West Brom, as they are a club that have ambitions of reaching the Premier League, and he would’ve backed himself to make an impact on the team.

Yet, it hasn’t worked out at all, and the situation doesn’t look as though it will change any time soon for the player, who signed a contract with the Baggies until the summer of 2026.

Given his age, and his ability, Cole can’t spend another year sitting on the bench or playing for the U21s, so he needs to get a move sorted to get regular football, whether it’s with a club lower down the Championship or back in League One.