West Bromwich Albion has waved goodbye to several long-standing servants of the club this summer.
Indeed, the Baggies finally pulled the plug on Daryl Dike after an injury stricken stay at the West Midlands outfit, with Dike only managing to be fit enough to make 68 appearances for the Championship giants, over four years.
Alongside the American leaving, West Brom also decided to part ways with Jed Wallace in another sad departure.
Amassing 16 goals and 16 assists across 150 appearances at the Hawthorns, the veteran winger will be remembered fondly for the most part.
But, the time was right to sever the well established ties, as his performances had been on a notable dip for some time now.
Why West Brom were right to offload Jed Wallace
Wallace has already found a new club to call home, despite falling down the West Brom pecking order, with the 32-year-old unveiled as a Bristol City player at the start of July.
The Robins will hope they can get more out of the experienced attacker than West Brom managed to do so during his final couple of seasons in the Midlands, with Wallace only managing to score three Championship goals across his last two forgettable campaigns.
|
Wallace’s drop in form at West Brom |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Season |
Games |
Goals + Assists |
|
25/26 |
25 |
3 + 2 |
|
24/25 |
30 |
1 + 1 |
|
23/24 |
43 |
6 + 5 |
|
22/23 |
50 |
6 + 8 |
He did collect a weighty 12 league strikes across his first two seasons at the Hawthorns, so there is some logic behind the Robins’ first transfer pick-up, but this drop-off will worry fans of the Ashton Gate giants, with his best years likely behind him.
Losing Wallace, despite his hit-and-miss displays as of late, has left a hole in the West Brom squad, though, with no recognised right wingers in the entire camp.
Mikey Johnston is the only option James Morrison can fall back on down the left flank, although the Republic of Ireland international found himself in and out of the treatment room last season alongside the aforementioned Dike.
A new winger signing could be deemed as a priority, therefore, as the transfer window chugs along, with it worth exploring an upgrade on an ageing Wallace.
Why West Brom must sign Leicester City star
West Brom have already been very active in the transfer department this summer, with both Barney Stewart and Jimmy Jay Morgan joining to boost the attacking ranks.
The next exciting attacking signing that could be made is snapping up Leicester star Stephy Mavididi, with it being reported back in May that he could be a possible Baggies purchase when the season was over.
Like Wallace, he isn’t without his faults, as he is just fresh off an underwhelming three-goal season in the Championship, which ended in the Foxes succumbing to the dire fate of back-to-back relegations.
Yet, when he’s performing at the peak of his powers, he is an extremely hard to contain forward in the demanding second tier, with a stunning 12 goals and six assists collected during the 2023/24 season for Leicester helping the one-time Premier League champions win promotion back to the top-flight.
Morrison will be praying that adding in the ex-Arsenal youngster to his ranks right now results in another promotion happening, with his red-hot form under Enzo Maresca seeing him labelled as “way too good for the Championship” by Como first team scout Ben Mattinson.
He would be a significant upgrade on Wallace, as the new Robins attacker never hit double figures for goals across any of his four seasons at the Hawthorns.
Mavididi even has four Premier League strikes next to his name, too, meaning he could be in it for the long haul with the Baggies, if Morrison successfully guides West Brom to the promised land, with next campaign being looked at optimistically, even with so many stalwarts leaving the building.
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