Despite a late red card being picked up by Darnell Furlong, West Bromwich Albion kicked off their fresh tenure under Ryan Mason with a 1-0 win over Blackburn Rovers.
Up next in the Championship, however, the Baggies have a tough away trip on the cards to Wrexham, who will be reeling themselves after a late 2-1 slip-up to Southampton at St. Mary’s.
Portsmouth and Stoke City then see out August as West Brom’s next opponents, with the second-tier table no doubt an intriguing read by the end of the action-packed month.
One or two new faces might even be donning Baggies’ blue and white for these tense contests, as Mason and Co. now weigh up a move for this former EFL ace to join the building.
West Brom express interest in ex-EFL attacker
It has been a lively transfer window for the West Midlands side so far.
The main notable purchase to date has been Aune Heggebo leaving Brann behind for pastures new in England for around the £4.7m price range, with the Nordic centre-forward already up and running in the EFL when he assisted Isaac Price’s goal on the opening day.
Away from this standout buy, the Championship promotion candidates have also been linked with some exciting new additions, with Cadiz attacker Chris Ramos reportedly on their radar to compete with Heggebo, presumably.
A fresh report by Hayters TV has also revealed that West Brom are contemplating dipping their toes into the German market to land St Pauli attacker Dapo Afolayan.
The report states that Mason’s men have expressed an interest in snapping up the Bundesliga forward, but further interest is also there from second-tier rivals Leicester City, Blackburn Rovers, and Swansea City.
Having once ripped up the EFL with Bolton Wanderers, Afolayan could welcome a return to familiar shores with the Baggies, as the Championship outfit attempt to secure their next Grady Diangana by landing the 27-year-old’s services.
How Afolayan can be the next Diangana
Mason underwent a clear-out of some of West Brom’s most experienced EFL personnel this summer as Diangana left the Hawthorns behind at the expiry of his contract.
This must have been a sad exit for the Congolese international who had amassed 26 goals and 22 assists for the Baggies from 206 appearances, as per Transfermarkt, with a creative hole in the side now needing to be filled by a new, gung-ho forward capable of playing down both the left and right flanks.
Afolayan might just be what West Brom desire, therefore, away from sticking with what they already have, when you consider his blistering exploits for Bolton in a number of different attacking positions.
In total for the Trotters, the 27-year-old would fire home a hefty 21 goals and pick up nine assists from 101 appearances, with a further 16 efforts finding the back of the net in Germany when plying his trade for St. Pauli, as three of those came about in the Bundesliga just last season.
LW
72
16 + 6
CF
60
12 + 4
RW
53
16 + 5
AM
27
7 + 2
SS
11
1 + 1
LM
11
2 + 0
The London-born attacker’s similarities to Diangana are even clearer to see when studying the table above, with Afolayan spreading his career goals and assists all across the forward positions, as the St Pauli number 17 even gifts Mason another option up top.
Diangana also lined up as a lone striker on occasion at the Hawthorns – as seen in a quickfire four goals coming his way from this spot on the pitch from just seven outings – with Afolayan also capable as a number ten, too, much like his former West Ham United counterpart.
Coincidentally, the 27-year-old also came through the Hammers academy system before making a name for himself elsewhere, with a hope he can blossom into a Championship star – like Diangana – by following his career path even more closely.
Once lauded for his “first-class” attitude by former Bolton boss Ian Evatt, Mason will hope adding in Afolayan before September’s deadline is yet another sprinkle of quality that pushes his side into the promotion reckoning.