West Brom struck gold on £0 signing who’s worth more than Thomas-Asante.
Carlos Corberan has plenty of promotion near misses on his managerial resume to date in the Championship, having guided both Huddersfield Town and West Bromwich Albion into the play-offs, with the Terriers even getting to Wembley under his reign only for Nottingham Forest to spoil their potential promotion winning party.
The popular Spaniard will hope he can successfully steer the Baggies to promotion this time around, albeit he will have to try and pull off this almighty feat without Brandon Thomas-Asante up top.
Thomas-Asante was seemingly on his way to Hull City, but has since sealed a move to Coventry City following a late hijack, raking in a reported fee of around £2m-£3m.
This will be a blow, but not one that will completely derail the Baggies going forward, knowing that they have plenty of firepower in attack away from the former Salford City man, with the likes of Jed Wallace staying put.
Jed Wallace’s time at West Brom
Wallace has been a consistent presence in and around the first team ever since he joined the building back in 2022, only missing four regular Championship games in the process.
The former Millwall man relocating to the Hawthorns will be seen as a masterstroke from the powers that be at the West Midlands club, therefore, with the experienced attacker also joining the club as a free agent, before going on to be a reliable creative force and goalscorer.
Last campaign, the “unbelievable” Baggies captain – as he was once described by ex-Sheffield United defender Jack O’Connell – would pick up six goals and five assists as Corberan’s side eyed an opportunity to break back into the Premier League, with the West Brom boss playing him all over the attacking ranks dependent on the clash ahead.
Wallace would line up in six different positions in the forward ranks come the end of the league schedule, with the ex-Millwall attacker even drafted in to play in Thomas-Asante’s lone striker spot on occasion, with six of his goal contributions for the season coming about when playing as this makeshift centre-forward.
Therefore, if the Championship promotion hopefuls do end up losing Thomas-Asante shortly, they could rely on their versatile 30-year-old to lead the line and do a competent job.
Moreover, Wallace is more valuable to Corberan and Co when you consider his transfer value up against the departing star’s own increased price tag, with the seasoned EFL figure the most valuable asset in the Baggies camp currently, according to Football Transfers.
Wallace’s transfer value in 2024
According to the site, the adaptable 5 foot 10 forward is worth in the region of £3.9m, with his value steadily rising and rising ever since entering the building for nothing only two years ago.
That makes him the most worthwhile asset to Corberan at this moment in time, with Thomas-Asante leaving for £3m also seen as West Brom advancing another player’s career, but this time smartly cashing in, with the 25-year-old once worth just £300k when signed from League Two.
Glancing at their respective numbers from the 2023/24 campaign, West Brom will also believe they can attract a more clinical finisher to the club over Thomas-Asante, especially with this added injection of £3m in the bank, with the ex-Salford man underperforming when it comes to his xG and missing a whole host of big chances at a hefty 18.
