West Brom should consider ex-Nottingham Forest star following recent blow: Opinion | OneFootball

With yet another injury crisis in the forward department for West Bromwich Albion to contend with, a move in the free agent market for Lewis Grabban could bolster their attacking options.

The Baggies confirmed summer arrival Josh Maja will be sidelined for the next eight weeks after tearing ankle ligaments in last weekend’s goalless draw with Bristol City.

Daryl Dike is another still making his way back from a ruptured achilles injury that he sustained last campaign, but the USA international might have to wait until the beginning of next year to make his return.

During the summer transfer window, Albion also decided to move out a host of attacking players on loan, with Karlan Grant, Mo Faal, Rayhaan Tulloch and Jovan Malcolm departing to Cardiff City, Doncaster Rovers, Bradford City and Cheltenham Town respectively.

This leaves Brandon Thomas-Asante as the only recognised striker available, while Carlos Corberan may look to slot Matt Phillips into the central role occasionally for rotation purposes.

As WBA languish in mid table after their opening six games, a major worry for Baggies supporters will be where the goals are going to come from, with the duo combining for just three goals so far this campaign.

Last season, injuries also caught up with Phillips after the former Scottish international sustained a quad injury which kept him out of the last 19 games during their play-off charge, so there will be a fear that Thomas-Asante will have all the pressure on his shoulders should Phillips join Maja and Dike on the treatment table.

With these concerns floating around the Black Country outfit, the club may have to look at the free agent market for the short-term future, and experienced Championship forward Lewis Grabban could be the best target available.

The 35-year-old still finds himself without a club since leaving Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli back in January.

Grabban has been searching for new employers since his departure but could still attract interest from the second tier given sides can sign free agents throughout the season.

The Croydon-born forward has a wealth of experience in the Championship with many clubs across England, recording 284 combined appearances for the likes of Crystal Palace, Millwall, Norwich City, Bournemouth, Reading, Sunderland, Aston Villa and most recently Nottingham Forest.

Why should West Brom consider Lewis Grabban?

With the limited options at the top end of the pitch, WBA need to score goals on a regular basis to fire themselves into promotion contention, and Grabban could be the missing piece.

In his last season in the Championship, Grabban still possessed his goalscoring touch by netting 12 times in 32 league games while in the East Midlands.

The 35-year-old has also proven his adaptability to play deeper while at Forest in his last campaign, averaging 14.5 passes per 90 minutes which helped him register four assists, as per WhoScored.com.

This in turn could see him replace some of the qualities Josh Maja has shown in his early spell and allow the experienced forward to form a healthy partnership alongside Thomas-Asante, with both of them comfortable to play off another striker.

Bringing Grabban in on a short-term deal could be seen as an attractive option for the Baggies given their thread bare forward line and perilous financial situation.

One of West Brom’s major problems last season was not scoring enough goals, and ultimately one of the main reasons why they didn’t finish in the play-offs despite a resurgent run.

Thomas-Asante finished as Albion’s top scorer with just seven league goals, so it could be worth a gamble to add another striker into the group to try and change the clubs’ fortunes.

At 35 however, Grabban would need time to get up to match fitness, which would be far from ideal for Corberan who would be desperate for an immediate impact.

With the transfer window closed, the West Midlands side are limited with what they can bring in, but adding someone of Grabban’s pedigree could be seen as a wise move to inject fresh ideas and provide healthy competition to the group.