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Fans Outraged: Devante Cole Branded a ‘Flop’ Following West Brom’s Latest Signing Surprise
The arrival of Devante Cole at West Bromwich Albion amid Brandon Thomas-Asante’s transfer to Coventry City has been received with skepticism by the Baggies faithful.
The 29-year-old frontman surfaced as Carlos Corberan’s fourth recruit of the summer transfer window in the wake of the departure of Thomas-Asante, who finished as West Brom’s top scorer in each of his two seasons after joining from Salford City.
Meanwhile, Cole scored 17 times for Barnsley in League One last season but moved on this summer following the expiration of his deal. Cole has been a prolific goalscorer in the third-tier of English football, although there are significant doubts about whether he’ll be able to translate that form to the Championship.
West Bromwich Albion verdict given on Devante Cole
Football League World’s Baggies fan pundit Matt Smith is cautious about the signing of Cole, who he worries could end up leading the line next term given the notable shortage of readily-available striking options at Carlos Corberan’s disposal.
“The Devante Cole deal is one I’m not convinced about at all,” Matt explained to Football League World.
A two-year deal for a player that’s never shown any form in the Championship, that’s interesting. 33 goals in League One across the last two seasons is impressive, however he barely scored after January.
“Whilst he may be a goalscorer at a lower level, I just can’t see how he’s better than Thomas-Asante at any form of the game, to be brutally honest. I think we’ve probably taken the cheap option, even as a third-choice striker if that’s what he’s going to be, we could’ve found better – loanees and young players.
“I just don’t think he’ll cut it at Championship level. As I said about Thomas-Asante, you’ve got two crocked strikers – one, Josh Maja can never stay fit, Daryl Dike is long gone injured and don’t get me started on Karlan Grant either, because I’m not a fan.
“So we’re likely to rely on Cole. He’s 29, it’s not like we can sell him on and I know he’s a free transfer but we’re not going to get any money off the deal. We’re only bringing him in for the pure fact we think he’ll deliver, and I don’t think he will deliver.
“I’d love to be proved wrong, but I think he’ll flop.”
Devante Cole may struggle with West Bromwich Albion
West Brom supporters are perfectly justified in feeling a bit flat after losing such an important player in Thomas-Asante – only to see him replaced by Cole, who, at 29, has very limited experience in the Championship.
Devante Cole for Barnsley-2
Indeed, Cole has spent just one season in the division throughout the entirety of his career which came with Barnsley in the 2021/22 campaign, where he returned just one goal from 24 appearances. He’s shown rich form in League One, as Matt makes reference to, but that too invites question marks given the striker scored only two goals after January.
There are plenty of shrewd acquisitions to be made in League One, and recently-departed Ipswich Town man Conor Townsend serves as a timely reminder of Albion’s success in recruiting from that division in previous years. However, it’s difficult to see Cole replicating that success and there’s scarce resale value for a player who’ll turn 30 next year.
Supporters would probably be open to giving latitude to a short-term transfer by nature if they felt convinced of an immediate impact, but it may take time for Cole to adapt to the Championship in any case and history suggests that very expectation could be a tall order.
