West Brom missed a trick with Aston Villa deal - Preston North End are laughing | OneFootball

Lewis Dobbin endured a difficult loan spell at West Brom from Aston Villa, but he has impressed for Preston this season.

West Brom have had a disappointing start to life under Ryan Mason, with the Baggies sitting in the bottom half of the table going into the November international break.

It’s far too soon for anyone at Albion to panic, but the win against Oxford last time out was very welcome, as questions were starting to be asked by the supporters.

However, it’s clear to see what the major problem for the West Midlands outfit is right now - they simply aren’t good enough in attack.

West Brom’s attacking players aren’t finding their best form

A return of 14 goals from 15 games is poor, and when you see Albion rank 20th in the Championship for xG, it highlights that this isn’t just a case of players not finishing their chances.

Instead, Mason’s side are lacking quality across the final third, with Isaac Price arguably the only player to have respectable figures at this stage of the season, having scored five and assisted twice.

Yet, outside the Northern Irish international, there isn’t a lot of reason for optimism, even if Mikey Johnston has shown flashes of his talent, and there will be a hope that Aune Heggebo’s winner against Oxford can kickstart his Albion career.

Heggebo was an expensive summer purchase from Norwegian outfit Brann, with Albion shelling out the best part of £4.75 million for his services, but with just two Championship goals so far from his 15 appearances, the 24-year-old has perhaps not settled in yet.

Josh Maja also hasn't been firing under Mason, with just one league goal to his name, and he's had to take a back seat to the new recruit from Scandinavia, starting in just four of his 13 Championship outings so far.

Lewis Dobbin could improve West Brom’s current XI

With the current group struggling, many West Brom fans will be looking on at Lewis Dobbin’s form with Preston North end - and wondering why he couldn’t show that in the blue-and-white stripes.

There was a sense of excitement when Albion brought the forward in from Aston Villa on an initial loan in the summer of 2024, but it’s fair to say it didn’t go how anyone had hoped.

Dobbin featured in 17 Championship games for West Brom, and he failed to score or register an assist in that period.

Whilst he will point out that only one of those appearances came from the start, Dobbin didn’t exactly impress in the time he was given on the pitch, and he was eventually recalled in January by Villa and relocated to another Championship club in Norwich City, where he performed better and was well thought of by the Canaries fanbase.

However, fast-forward just over 12 months from being in his stuttering West Brom stint, and Dobbin is starting to show why he was so highly rated when he came through at Everton a few years ago.

That’s because he is playing an increasingly important role for Paul Heckingbottom’s Preston side, who have been one of the surprise packages in the Championship this season.

Dobbin has scored three and provided two assists in his 11 outings, as well as an EFL Cup stunner on his debut against Wrexham, but that doesn’t tell the whole story about his influence, as he brings genuine pace and a counter-attacking threat for North End - one which they did not have last season.

The 22-year-old - who can play in different attacking roles but is operating as more of a floating support striker for the likes of Milutin Osmajic, Michael Smith and Daniel Jebbison - is capable of carrying the ball, and his willingness to run and commit his opponent means he is a constant threat.

From West Brom’s perspective, those are qualities they are desperately lacking right now, with the sale of Tom Fellows to Southampton seriously blunting their attack.

Mikey Johnston is a player who prefers to cut inside when in possession, whilst Samuel Iling-Junior has simply been far too inconsistent, and he also lacks that speed off the mark, like the rest of the Albion options going forward.

Given how ineffective he was in a Baggies shirt, most fans won’t have given Dobbin a second thought since his loan was cut short by Villa in January of this year, and he then joined Norwich. Despite that, he has proven his talent at Preston, and he is exactly the type of profile that Mason is lacking right now.

Obviously, no transfer is a guarantee, and maybe Dobbin would’ve continued to struggle at The Hawthorns had he returned for a second spell.

But, Preston are the big winners after securing his signature in the summer, and West Brom will no doubt try to rectify their attacking issues by bringing in a player that has similar strengths to Dobbin when the January window opens.