Daryl Dike’s return to action will be expected to take the pressure off striker Josh Maja, whose goals have kept West Bromwich Albion promotion hopes alive thus far.
Maja has roared to life after a first season that was marred by injury.
However, he has undoubtedly been the main source of goals at ‘The Hawthorns’ so far this campaign, providing pressure which will begin to weigh heavily towards the business end of the season.
One forward nearing a return for West Brom, Daryl Dike, could be just the answer to ease the goalscoring pressure.
It’s difficult to overstate just how crucial Maja has been to West Brom’s positive start to the season.
He’s already bagged nine goals in 15 appearances — triple that of the next-best scorers in Alex Mowatt and Karlan Grant, both on three — including an opening day hat-trick in the side’s 3-1 win away to Queens Park Rangers.
It’s fair to say that without Maja’s goals, West Brom’s league position would look very different.
However, strikers rarely stay in top form for an entire season, and almost all are prone to droughts here and there, while there are rumours circling about bids coming in for him in the winter window
If manager Carlos Corberan can get a fully fit Dike onto the pitch, the striker has already proven exactly what an impact he can have.
In a half-season Championship stint with Barnsley in the 2020/21 season, the forward notched nine goals in 19 appearances, following that up with 10 goals in 18 outings for Orlando City in the MLS in 2021, and has even managed seven efforts in 23 showings for ‘The Baggies’ in 2022/23, despite his injury struggles.
When fit and firing, Dike is very capable in front of goal and would be more than capable of picking up any slack left by a slight drop-off by Maja.
West Brom will hope to have Dike back up to speed as quickly as possible, as their goalscoring abilities look heavily reliant on Maja alone at the moment.
That’s a precarious place to be for any club; one injury or a drop in performance levels could derail their entire season.
Maja and his team-mates will be only too aware of that — tough pressure for the 25-year-old striker to shoulder by himself.
‘The Baggies’ must do all they can to get Dike back in the squad, as providing adequate cover for Maja could be vitally important to the club’s fortunes.
