West Brom have an ideal Thomas-Asante replacement lined up if Stoke come calling again: View | OneFootball

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As the January transfer window approaches, exactly what business is done by West Brom, will feel rather telling.

Earlier in the season, it was reported that the Baggies were searching for a new owner to take over the club from Guochuan Lai, in order to avoid a firesale of players in January to raise funds.

Since then, there has been no official confirmation of new owners for the Championship club, although there have been reports of talks with multiple parties about a sale of the Midlands outfit.

Even so, the clock is ticking until the turn of the year, and one player who future at The Hawthorns could be influenced by that situation, is Brandon Thomas-Asante.

What has been said about Thomas-Asante's situation at West Brom?

Back in last summer's transfer window, Thomas-Asante joined West Brom from League Two side Salford City.

Since then, the striker has become an important player for the Baggies, scoring 14 goals and providing one assist in 50 appearances in all competitions for the club, earning some important points in the process.

That has already seen the 24-year-old attract interest from elsewhere, with it being reported back in the summer, that West Brom's Championship rivals Stoke City had two bids for the striker - one of which was thought to be worth around £2million - rejected.

Even so, goals from the centre forward area have continued to be an issue for the Potters this season, something which could tempt them to make a fresh move for Thomas-Asante, particularly if the uncertainty around the ownership situation at The Hawthorns continues.

Should that happen, then with the likes of Daryl Dike and Josh Maja struggling with injury, and Karlan Grant out on loan at Cardiff City, it would no doubt be vital to the Baggies' prospects for the rest of the campaign, that they replace Thomas-Asante in that case.

In that respect, it does at least seem as though West Brom have an obvious replacement for the striker lined up, should they find themselves forced into making such alterations to their forward line come January.

Who could West Brom target as a replacement for Brandon Thomas-Asante?

According to a recent report from TEAMTalk, West Brom are one of a number of Championship clubs taking an interest in Peterborough United forward Kwame Poku.

Should they be the ones to win the race for Poku, then it does seem as though the Baggies would be securing a useful potential replacement for Thomas-Asante if he heads to Stoke.

So far this season, the 22-year-old has enjoyed an excellent campaign in League One with the Posh.

The attacker has scored six goals and provided six assists in 16 league outings for Peterborough, helping them to fifth spot in the current third-tier standings.

That ability to both score and create goals would be vital in a West Brom side who, as already mentioned, face the prospect of being rather short on attacking firepower come January.

Indeed, Poku's versatility, allowing him to play a variety of roles, is similar to that of Thomas-Asante, and so could see him as a suitable fit to do the same job as the latter, if he moves on.

Meanwhile, given his experience in League One, the Peterborough man would not have to make as big a step-up as Thomas-Asante did when he swapped League Two with Salford, for the Championship with the Baggies.

As a result, that could help Poku settle in well at The Hawthorns, where he may be ready to take his chance in the second-tier.

That could also be aided by the fact that, unlike Thomas-Asante, he does already have some experience of the Championship from earlier in his Peterborough career, which should ensure he knows what to expect and how to cope with those demands if he joins the Baggies.

It is also worth noting that at 22-years-old, Poku still has the vast majority of his career ahead of him, meaning he could prove to be a long-term replacement for Thomas-Asante, should the Baggies find themselves needing to source one of those come January.

Given the sort of fee they would likely demand from Stoke for the sale of the striker based on those claims from the summer, it also seems as though the Baggies would have funds available to reinvest in bringing Poku to The Hawthorns as well.

So with all that in mind, it does seem that if West Brom feel they are going to lose Thomas-Asante in January, they must be ready to step their interest in Poku, to ensure they are the ones to bring him to the Championship.