What can West Bromwich Albion expect from Daryl Dike?

West Bromwich Albion supporters could not have asked for a better start to 2022 as USMNT striker Daryl Dike joined the club on a four-year contract.

Dike’s arrival represents a coup for Baggies manager Valérien Ismaël, who was determined on reuniting with the 22-year-old following their time together at Barnsley last season.

Having only scored six goals in their previous 10 games, West Brom have lacked a clinical edge to their finishing in recent times, falling behind fellow promotion contenders in the process.

There are big hopes that Dike is the answer to their goalscoring woes, especially as he found the net on nine occasions in just 19 league appearances for the Tykes last term.

Once again, an absence of a natural striker was clear in the Baggies’ 1-1 draw against Cardiff City, a game which Dike attended and was presented to spectators.

However, not too many English football fans will have seen much of the former Orlando City man, with all but one of Barnsley’s matches played behind closed doors last season.

Therefore, to find out more about Dike and what he will bring to The Hawthorns, we spoke to Prost Amerika editor Daniel Gaichas.

Like many, Dike’s goalscoring record alone was enough to convince Dan that the Baggies have pulled off a smart transfer.

“Dike should be a good addition for West Brom. He is a player who can score goals and has done so already at this level. He only played 19 league matches for Barnsley, but netted nine goals in that time and helped them to the play-offs in the Championship.”

Dan’s description of the player will also fill the Albion faithful with confidence, even more so when their aforementioned struggles are considered.

“From what I have seen of him [Dike], he is a bonafide goal scorer in the making. He is a true number nine like Valérien Ismaël said. Defenders will find him a challenge to handle.”

Ismaël himself was lauded for guiding the unfancied Tykes to the play-off semi-finals and earned his move to The Hawthorns off the back of that.

Both Ismaël and Dike’s former side now sit at the wrong end of the Championship table, illustrating how significant their respective impacts were. Dan acknowledged that the latter’s goals should help the Baggies achieve their targets, as they did last season for Barnsley.

 “Before he [Dike] came to Barnsley, when was the last time anyone was talking about the Tykes? If he can help Barnsley punch above their weight, he can surely help West Brom return to the Premier League.”

On returning to the States, Dike experienced a mixed 2021 campaign. Though, he did recover from injuries to enjoy a prolific end to the season which will encourage those of an Albion persuasion.

“Dike scored twice in his second match before international duty but then suffered a shoulder injury. Towards the end of the season he found his form and eventually took penalty duties from Nani at Orlando and helped them to the MLS play-offs. He finished the season with 10 goals in 18 league games.”

The beginning of 2022 marks the start of another World Cup year, albeit this year’s edition will be played in the United Kingdom’s winter months, something that has never been seen before.

After embarrassingly missing out on the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the USMNT booked their place in Qatar under manager Gregg Berhalter.

While Dike may harbour aspirations of adding to his eight current international appearances, Dan admitted he will also need to continue his impressive goalscoring form to beat other high-profile names to a place in the squad and make the cut for the World Cup.

“Right now, Dike is a little beind other forward options with Christian Pulisic and Ricardo Pepi scoring for the USA in recent World Cup qualifiers. RB Salzburg’s Brenden Aaronson and Lille’s Timothy Weah are also above him in the pecking order right now.

“His last cap was at the CONCACAF Gold Cup. There are others who are in-form at the present time for Berhalter’s squad. If he can capture the form he had at Barnsley with a bigger club like West Brom, then he may have a chance [of making the USA squad].”

When pushed for a player to liken Dike to, Dan opted to go with a name that long-time Premier League supporters will recognise very well.

“I’ll go old-school and say he’s like Brian McBride in the way he challenges defenders and has made such an impact in England, McBride did that at Fulham.”

If Dike can gain a similar status among Baggies fans to the one that McBride developed throughout his time at Craven Cottage, Ismaël will have completed an extremely astute acquisition.

However, he needs Dike to start firing them in, and quickly. Starting with a trip to Loftus Road to face Queens Park Rangers in just under two weeks time.

We thank Daniel Gaichas for his contribution to this piece and you can follow him on Twitter @StatManDan.

Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt

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