"Clearly prolific" - West Brom told to target Danish striker and Mikey Johnston transfer agreements | OneFootball

FLW's verdict on an ideal and realistic target West Brom should pursue before the 30 August transfer deadline

West Brom narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League last season.

The Baggies finished fifth in the Championship table, but were knocked out of top flight contention at the semi-final stages of the play-offs with a two-leggeed defeat to Southampton.

Carlos Corberan will be hoping to take the club one step further over the next 12 months, with the Midlands outfit expected to be in the top six mix again in 2025.

West Brom's summer transfer business so far

The summer transfer window provides the recruitment staff a chance to bolster the Spaniard’s options for the season ahead.

Albion have already added fresh faces such as defender Torbjørn Heggem, midfielder Ousmane Diakite and goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith to their ranks.

But they have until 30 August to complete any remaining transfer business ahead of another promotion push this term.

West Brom should target new winger and striker in final 5 weeks of transfer window

Here we ask our FLW writers their verdict on who West Brom should target as an ideal and realistic signing for the remainder of the window…

Declan Harte

The obvious pick that West Brom should be looking to pursue is Mikey Johnston, who spent the second half of last season on loan at The Hawthorns.

The winger is reportedly available for £6 million this summer, and the Baggies are said to be keen on bringing him back to the club.

He struggled for game time under Brendan Rodgers last year, which led to his switch to the Championship.

The Republic of Ireland international excelled in that time, contributing seven goals and one assist from 18 appearances in the second tier of English football.

While £6 million may seem like a potentially steep figure, the new owners at West Brom should be looking to flex their financial muscle to show their backing of the club to supporters.

Johnston could prove a very worthwhile signing even at £6 million given how impressive his performances were for Corberan’s side last season.

It is also an area of the squad that needs to be strengthened anyway, as they lack potent options from out wide.

Supporters would be delighted to see Johnston back in the fold, and it would be a true sign of the Patel family’s ambitions for West Brom to complete a signing of this stature.

It is a no-brainer move, and it is surprising just how little movement has been made on getting this deal over the line this deep into the window.

Ben Wignall

A winger does need to be high on the agenda of Corberan this summer, but so does a new striker.

Brandon Thomas-Asante was at times the only out-and-out attacker that the Spaniard could call upon last season, with Josh Maja spending two separate lengthy times out on the sidelines, whilst Daryl Dike - marquee signing in January 2022 - played just four times in the league before rupturing his achilles again.

Thomas-Asante is a quick and hard-working striker, so West Brom perhaps need something different as an alternative - and the little-known Yousef Salech could suffice.

Standing at 6ft 5in, the Danish striker has been on fire for Swedish top flight outfit Sirius since joining them in February, scoring nine times in just 14 matches, and he is a clear presence in the opposition penalty area and a handful to deal with.

The 22-year-old had a loan stint with Belgian second tier side Beveren last season but failed to really fire; it's clear to see now though that he is flourishing in Sweden, and whilst that level could potentially be questioned, it isn't the first time that Salech has found the back of the net on a regular basis, so he's clearly prolific.

In 2022-23, Salech netted 15 times in just 24 Danish second tier matches on loan at HB Køge, showing he knows how to score goals, and that is a quality potentially worth punting on for West Brom.