£7m West Brom player tipped for fresh contract agreement - it may lead to Josh Maja exit | OneFootball

West Bromwich Albion have several attacking players falling out of contract this summer, but there's one that they're being tipped to retain.

It's been a turbulent season at The Hawthorns, and West Bromwich Albion may have a lot of work to carry on their attacking options in the summer.

A 3-0 win against Watford on the 21st April finally secured West Bromwich Albion's Championship status at the end of a tumultuous season, subject to the EFL's decision over a potential points deduction over breaches of PSR.

An unbeaten run of nine games under interim head coach James Morrison has lifted them clear of the relegation zone, although the club could yet be plunged back into trouble should the League decide to dock them points over breaches of financial guidelines at the very end of this season.

That position remains up in the air, but West Brom still need to start looking ahead to what may be a busy summer. There are growing calls for Morrison to be given the job on a permanent basis, but there will also be considerable work to be carried out on their first team squad, particularly in attacking positions.

Albion have nine players calling out of contract at the end of this season, a number which includes three strikers and two attacking midfielders.

One of those attackers is the American international striker Daryl Dike, who's had appalling luck with injuries since his 2022 transfer to the club for £7 million from Orlando City, but who has started to get more first-team football throughout the second half of the season and has chipped in with a couple of recent goals.

"He's probably the most likely to stay" - Daryl Dike tipped to stay at West Brom for 2026-27

Football League World have spoken to our West Bromwich Albion fan pundit Callum Burgess about Dike, and whether his club should be offering the striker a new contract in the summer.

Callum believes that Dike is considerably more likely to stay at The Hawthorns this summer than one of Albion's other out-of-contract strikers, Josh Maja.

"Personally, I'd say that out of him and Maja, he's (Dike) probably the most likely to stay, even though both have been playing very well lately, especially Maja," Callum told FLW.

"But I think potentially with Dike, something that might suit the club is offering a one-year deal up front then offering an option to extend if he meets a certain number of appearances, which is something we did with Kyle Bartley in the past when he was here with injury troubles.

"I don't think Dike will get the contract he's on now with another club, who might see his injury history and think he's not really worth the gamble, but we're approaching more than half a season now where he's not really picked up any injuries, and finally he's able to reap the rewards of that."

"A fully fit Daryl Dike is as good as any striker in the division in my opinion, so I wouldn't be surprised to see Albion take a gamble when you see the other options and who's out of contract this summer.

You've got Maja, who I've mentioned, Karlan Grant and Jed Wallace. If they all go, you're having to recruit a lot of forward options in one summer, so they might be keen to retain Dike out of them all."

Daryl Dike has had terrible luck with injuries, but recent return gives West Brom a dilemma

Few other Championship strikers have had such terrible luck with injuries as Daryl Dike has had since he arrived at West Bromwich Albion from Orlando City at the very start of 2022.

Dike had impressed both in MLS and in the EFL, where he scored nine goals in 22 appearances on loan at Barnsley over the first half of the 2020-21 season. He made his debut for the USA national team in January 2021, in a friendly match against Trinidad & Tobago.

But injuries have ruined his four and a half years at The Hawthorns. A thigh injury that he picked up on his debut for them kept him out for the remainder of the 2021-22 season, and a recurrence of that injury then kept him out of their first team until the middle of November.

When he returned, he demonstrated his ability, but an achilles tendon injury sustained during Albion's 2-1 win at Stoke in April 2023 caused the striker even greater issues than he'd already been through.

He was sidelined until January 2024, but after just four appearances from the bench, a recurrence of his achilles tendon injury during a match against Ipswich Town kept him out of the team for the remainder of the 2023-24 season and most of the 2024-25 season, though he did recover to make 11 appearances, scoring one goal.

A return of his previous thigh problems then kept him out of the team yet again, this time until the middle of October. His current run is by far the longest time he's spent free from injury since first arriving at the club.

All of this presents West Bromwich Albion with something of a quandary as the end of this season starts to come into view. There is no doubting Dike's talent. He's an international striker, with three goals in ten appearances for the US national team. Indeed, had it not been for his horrific injury problems, he would surely have been in contention for a place in their squad for this summer's World Cup finals.

His injury record is a clear worry for any club offering him a contract. In four and a half seasons at The Hawthorns, he's only managed 66 appearances and 11 goals, and it will be an obvious concern for any club considering him that, not only has he been laid low by serious injuries over the course of that time, but also those injuries have had a tendency to flare back up after it was felt that he'd fully recovered.

But none of this means that not extending his contract would necessarily be a good idea. At 25 years of age, Dike is about to hit what would normally be considered the prime years of his playing career, and if he can stay fit there's little doubt that he has the quality to be able to thrive in England - his goals against Preston and Watford were a timely demonstration of that.

And there's a strong argument to be made for West Bromwich Albion needing some degree of continuity over the course of the summer. Albion have had a difficult season, having already hired and fired two head coaches before settling on James Morrison to guide them to Championship salvation.

With so many other attacking players also falling out of contract this summer, difficult decisions need to be made and a completely new roster of attacking players would be a gamble in its own right. As such, sticking with Daryl Dike and hoping that his injuries are now in the past could be the most prudent thing the club can do this summer.