West Brom warned against potential Hawthorns exit for £32k-a-week star | OneFootball

FLW's West Bromwich Albion fan pundit discussed Daryl Dike's future with the club

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 will be strategising behind the scenes ahead of the 2025/26 Championship campaign after missing out on a second successive top-six finish, as they continue their search for a new permanent head coach to replace the freshly-departed Tony Mowbray.

The Baggies are likely to finish the campaign in 10th place or lower after Saturday afternoon's 0-0 draw away to League One-bound Cardiff City ended any faint hopes of a finish inside the play-off spots.

They were led by long-serving former midfielder James Morrison, who was placed in charge on an interim basis until the end of the season following Mowbray's recent dismissal just months after taking over from Carlos Corberan.

With QPR's Marti Cifuentes and St. Pauli boss Alexander Blessin both reportedly in the frame to replace Mowbray, a summer of transition both on and off-the-pitch awaits at the Hawthorns. An all-important decision will have to be made on who exactly is the right man to take West Brom forward and back to the Premier League, while the playing squad must also be addressed ahead of a potential rebuild of the side.

For now at least, it remains unclear what will happen with Daryl Dike. The 24-year-old frontman joined from MLS side Orlando City back in January 2022 but has only managed to clock up 42 appearances and eight goals across more than three years owing to a series of injury setbacks, which have plagued him once again throughout the current campaign.

Dike has returned to contention from a lengthy lay-off in recent months but has failed to start any of his 10 league appearances this term, which have been spread across a meager 157 minutes, and he was on the receiving end of a rather scathing admission from Mowbray in the ex-boss' final press conference in charge.

According to Mowbray, Dike was not match-fit to feature under him due to his limited training schedule, and it will be interesting to see whether his successor holds the same school of thought or is able to get more of a tune out of the former Barnsley star.

West Brom warned against potential Daryl Dike transfer exit this summer

FLW asked our Albion fan pundit, Callum Burgess, whether he believes Dike has a future with the club moving forwards, or if the Baggies should consider cashing in on his services if interested parties arise.

In Callum's view, there is a player in there who can still become a success in the West Midlands, and a full-pre-season alongside the addition of another striker to share the workload could help him regain both fitness and form infront of goal.

"Daryl Dike is probably, if not the only, one of few players likely to still be at Albion next season who myself and hopefully, many other fans included, are desperate can still turn out to be a success," Callum told FLW.

"You really want him to get past his injury struggles because there's definitely a player there. We did see bits where he has been fit, his run in the team the season before last he had a decent run where he was fully fit before he got injured away at Stoke.

"He was quite good infront of goal, great finishes against Cardiff and Middlesbrough if my mind goes back correctly.

"Give him a full pre-season. [Josh] Maja is probably going to leave with a year left on his contract despite me hoping he remains as an Albion player.

"If you give him a full pre-season, he can start to put his injury problems behind him, you've definitely got to keep Dike at the club. Hopefully, perhaps with another striker as well who can share the workload with him, he can have a decent season for us.

"I think Mowbray's comments on him were very harsh considering what he's been through in the last year, and there have definitely been players in his tenure who have done more damage than good than Dike for sure.

"But yeah, I definitely want to keep Dike because if he was going to leave, we wouldn't get much of a return for him anyway in my opinion."

Daryl Dike's West Brom wage is a concern

Dike's previous goalscoring record when fully fit indicates a player who is more than capable of leading the line, and it's easy to see why Callum is still hoping for better fortune on that front, but there are a number of drawbacks which could see West Brom implored to move him on this summer.

One of those may just be his salary, which, as per Capology estimates, is setting the club back by no less than £32,306 on a weekly basis.

If that is to be believed, Dike is Albion's top earner and they are yet to really see a return on that sort of investment, which is a source of real frustration.

You do, however, really have to feel for Dike in this situation, and he will be more desperate than anyone else for a clean bill of health next time out, be that at the Albion or elsewhere.