Next season could well end up being a make-or-break campaign for Brandon Thomas-Asante at West Bromwich Albion, having underwhelmed when his team needed him to step up in crucial Championship playoff matches.
The first leg stalemate against Southampton was crying out for a striker from the Baggies to take the game by the scruff of its neck, only for the former Salford City man to fail to register a single on-target effort on Alex McCarthy's net.
The tie would work in the favour of the Saints after this, with West Brom in dire need of some fresh bodies going forward in the summer, especially if Mikey Johnston returns to Scotland with Celtic after a blistering loan stint from down the wings.
West Brom could continue their pursuit of this entertaining attacker as a result, who has just tasted promotion up to the second tier with his current employers in dramatic fashion.
West Brom pursuing promotion winner
Last month, The Sun reported that West Brom – alongside a whole host of other Championship outfits – were eyeing up former Norwich City winger Josh Murphy, with the Oxford United man available on a free transfer potentially.
After Murphy's heroics at Wembley to secure the U's an unbelievable promotion with two strikes, his side upsetting the odds by beating the heavily fancied Bolton Wanderers 2-0, the 29-year-old will no doubt be even more in demand – especially if he doesn't put pen to paper on a new deal at the Kassam Stadium soon.
Murphy could sign a new deal with his now second-tier team though, with his Dad revealing to the Oxford Mail that his 'preference' could be to stay with Des Buckingham's outfit in the aftermath of the promotion celebrations, but the former Canaries forward might well have his head turned by Carlos Corberan's team.
Thomas-Asante would love having Murphy around if he were to relocate to the Hawthorns, with the 29-year-old picking up 16 goal contributions this season for Buckingham's underdogs.
The slick 5 foot 8 winger would also fill the void left behind by Johnston effectively, eager to show off his best for a team aiming to win promotion up to the Premier League once more, after being let go of by Norwich in 2018.
How Murphy would complement Thomas-Asante
Murphy has been wreaking havoc with his directness on the ball for Oxford this season, always darting forward with one end goal in mind – to have a shot on goal, or tee up a teammate for a chance to slot home.
Thomas-Asante could well feed off Murphy's blistering darts forward, therefore, with the out-of-sorts 25-year-old excelling early into his Baggies career by operating as a poacher-like striker aiming to fire home off scraps given to him.
It's not as if Thomas-Asante doesn't have a clinical edge in his arsenal when going forward, having still fired in 11 strikes this season in league action despite going through notable barren patches.
Murphy will also be hungry to succeed and take his game to the next level at West Brom alongside Thomas-Asante, having had to drop down to League One to rebuild his career after being tipped for great things at Carrow Road.
Season
Games played
Goals
Assists
2023/24
38
10
6
2022/23
24
0
3
Sourced by Transfermarkt
The improving 29-year-old, who was described as a "wonderful person" by U's manager Buckingham right after promotion was clinched, might want to seize his opportunity whilst he can to join a side with aspirations of top-flight football.
Thomas-Asante will just hope Murphy can rub off on him if the two link up at the Hawthorns next season, striking fear into Championship defences consequently.
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