"Wouldn't have much faith" - No signs of West Brom regret over Coventry City deal | OneFootball

The forward made the switch to the CBS Arena in the summer, following two seasons with the Baggies.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

West Bromwich Albion have started the new Championship campaign in fine fettle.

Under the guidance of one of the best managers in the second tier, Carlos Corberan, the Baggies have gone into the second international break of the season in fourth place, despite failing to win any of their last three games.

Nevertheless, it has been an opening two months that has seen striker Josh Maja really find his feet at The Hawthorns. The 25-year-old has struggled with injuries in the past but has registered seven goals in his first nine appearances since replacing Brandon Thomas-Asante as West Brom's starting striker.

Thomas-Asante made the switch in the summer to fellow Championship side Coventry City, following two years with Albion. It seemed likely that the former Salford City ace was going to leave the club, with interest from Hull City as well as the Sky Blues, eventually making the move to the CBS Arena for a reported £2.5 million.

West Brom have been the winners out of the Thomas-Asante deal

Although it was a transfer that, at the time, felt like an incorrect decision, the goal-scoring qualities that Maja has shown so far, coupled with Thomas-Asante's struggles for Coventry, have seen West Brom look to have emerged as the early winners from the deal.

The 25-year-old has found the back of the net just once in nine Championship games for his new club, despite looking like Albion's best hope of goals before he left the club in August.

Football League World asked their West Brom Fan Pundit, Callum Burgess, about how he thinks life has been at The Hawthorns without their now former number 21.

"I think it's fair to say, with the way that Josh Maja has started this season, that life without Brandon Thomas-Asante at West Brom is going pretty well," he started.

"I'd say that we aren't really missing him with Maja at the top of the Golden Boot charts at the moment. He's really, really clinical in front of goal and his all-round play is really, really good. There's nothing you can really complain about, apart from maybe having that option off the bench to give Maja a bit of a break.

"But hopefully, with Daryl Dike returning soon, Albion can begin to ease Dike into the team, building up his fitness while also being able to give Josh Maja some rest that he's not been able to get so far."

Callum continued: "Later in the match against Millwall, Albion had to turn to Karlan Grant to play up front, and although he's doing alright on the wing, he's not really the out-and-out striker who fans will be wanting to see lead the line.

"Devante Cole’s not been able to have much of a look in either, but with those factors in mind, you can say that Albion have not been missing Thomas-Asante. While I can always appreciate the 110% he gave every week, he was quite a frustrating finisher at the best of times.

"He might score an amazing goal, but whenever he was one-on-one in front of goal, you wouldn't have much faith.

"The end result would be that Thomas-Asante not tucking the goal away, but Josh Maja might be on the end of one or two chances, and you'd have full faith that he'd be able to find the back of the net."

Thomas-Asante has to start firing soon

While Baggies fans will remain relatively unbothered about how their ex-forward is doing, he does need to start finding the back of the net on a more regular basis soon.

Coventry are currently perched just above the relegation zone, a far cry from their previous season in the Championship where they have battled in the top half of the division, even reaching the play-off final in 2022/23.

But with just two wins in nine, it has not been the start that supporters would have expected, and more needs to be done to get the team pushing back up the league.

Thomas-Asante needs to take some responsibility as well and get himself back among the goals, otherwise his place in the matchday squad may start to be under threat.

His strike against Blackburn Rovers in his eighth appearance was more similar to what he has produced in the past, but for West Brom, they will be looking on without too much regret.