West Brom must secure Lucas Joao transfer

West Bromwich Albion secured their first league win of the season final weekend by beating Hull Metropolis on an emphatic 5-2 scoreline.

One participant who bought his identify on the scoresheet in opposition to the Tigers on whom Albion have been relying for objectives for a while is Karlan Grant.

Final season noticed the striker web 18 league objectives for the Baggies, simply making him their top scorer, whereas solely three different gamers within the Championship took extra pictures at objective than him (108).

With simply over per week left earlier than the summer time switch window closes, the Midlands membership nonetheless have the prospect to herald one other attacking determine who wouldn’t solely give the squad some larger depth in that space, but additionally provide Steve Bruce the prospect to kind a doubtlessly lethal partnership alongside Grant.

One identify who has been mentioned with a transfer to The Hawthorns and who may match this invoice is Studying’s Lucas Joao.

In 85 appearances for his present membership, the 28-year-old has discovered the web 39 occasions and offered 14 assists alongside the way in which.

To check Joao’s earlier home marketing campaign – the place he scored ten goals in 24 league appearances – alongside Grant’s, the duo had the identical price for objectives scored per 90 minutes (0.48), with lower than 1% of a distinction between their particular person percentages for pictures heading in the right direction.

In actual fact, the Studying striker ended his marketing campaign with a better price for objectives per shot (0.18) than Grant (0.13), which highlights how scientific the Angolan is in entrance of objective.

Would you be disenchanted if West Brom do not signal a striker this summer time?

Beforehand lauded by Gary Rowett as an “unplayable” attacking determine, Joao definitely has the attacking credentials to be a nice addition to Bruce’s squad and doubtlessly kind a scary partnership alongside Grant.

West Brom’s earlier league outing confirmed simply how lethal they are often when at their finest, whereas solely Sheffield United and Norwich Metropolis have had extra shots at objective and pictures heading in the right direction within the league this season than the Baggies.

Nonetheless, the truth that Daryl Dike is out injured for some time reveals simply how a lot they might do with signing a brand new striker earlier than deadline day, with Kenneth Zohore (who hasn’t scored since the 2020/21 season) at present the only centre-forward alternative to Grant.

With all that in thoughts, launching a transfer for Joao ought to be on the high of West Brom’s precedence record.