West Bromwich Albion are nervously hanging onto that last playoff spot in the Championship currently as Tony Mowbray continues to try and leave his mark on proceedings.
The seasoned EFL manager has only managed to collect two wins since returning to the Baggies helm from six matches played, with a confidence-boosting victory often followed up by a back-to-square-one defeat.
The ex-Blackburn Rovers boss hasn’t been helped by Josh Maja’s unfortunate injury predicament, with the Baggies’ top scorer in league action this campaign sidelined since mid-January to the dismay of the 61-year-old.
Maja’s heroics this season
Before picking up a setback that now requires surgery, the former Sunderland attacker was leading the line with unerring confidence for his promotion-chasing team.
Indeed, the potent 26-year-old was a man possessed in front of goal with a clinical 12 strikes coming his way from 26 league clashes, which even saw the likes of Premier League giants Chelsea allegedly sniffing around for his services.
Maja will just have to hope he can recapture his groove when he’s back fit, having already overcome a significant injury setback during his stay at the Hawthorns, with the unlucky striker only fit enough to make one Championship start during a derailed 2023/24 campaign.
Mowbray did boost his depleted centre-forward ranks with the deadline day arrival of EFL star Adam Armstrong on loan, but he could have Maja 2.0 on his hands with another injury-prone attacker if he can successfully drip-feed the imposing ace more and more minutes moving forward.
Mowbray’s very own Maja
The now two-time Baggies head coach will have despaired over Maja being sidelined when initially taking on the reins, having once tried to buy the 5 foot 11 star when positioned in the Blackburn dug-out.
He will be waiting eagerly for his return into the first-team fold, therefore, but instead of just merely waiting around patiently for Maja to shake off his latest setback, he could find the next best thing in Daryl Dike’s long-awaited emergence back into the side.
Last time out versus Millwall saw the American make his first senior appearance for the Baggies since February 2024, with Mowbray cautiously giving the former Orlando City man some minutes at the Den to try and slowly but surely get him back up to speed.
If Dike can finally wriggle free of his long-standing injury demons – which has seen him miss a staggering 129 games since joining the West Brom ranks in 2022 – the promotion hopefuls could have a gem on their hands, when you consider his previous sublime goalscoring exploits at the level.
|
Dike’s career G/A record |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Club played for |
Games played |
Goals scored |
Assists |
|
West Brom |
33 |
8 |
1 |
|
Barnsley |
22 |
9 |
0 |
|
Orlando City |
41 |
19 |
4 |
|
Sourced by Transfermarkt |
|||
After all, the Baggies didn’t just snap up the 6 foot 2 striker for a whopping £7m on a whim, with Dike firing home a promising 17 strikes from 55 games playing for both West Brom and his former employers in the Tykes, away from also causing MLS defences all sorts of bother when on the books of Orlando.
If Maja was capable of finding his goalscoring mojo again, there will be hope in the air that Dike can do the same, with the potential added firepower of the American perhaps boosting West Brom’s promotion chances.
Initially, it will all be about getting the “incredible” – as he was once labelled by ex-Orlando teammate Nani – attacker’s sharpness back up, but if he passes all of his forthcoming tests with flying colours, he could be a player Mowbray relies on to give his team a fighting chance of a dramatic jump up to the Premier League.
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