West Brom boss happy with options after "very difficult" claim

Top scorer Thomas-Asante has been the only striker available to Corberan for almost the entirety of the campaign.

Dike has recently returned from a long-term Achilles injury while summer signing Josh Maja has twice been out with an ankle injury, including needing surgery after a heavy tackle half an hour into his first start.

Play-off chasing Corberan believes Championship success would be almost impossible with just one striker.

The head coach is satisfied that his three senior frontmen all possess different strengths.

Thomas-Asante and Dike spent between between December 2022 and April last year being rotated and the move proved beneficial, guarding against burn-out and keeping up competition.

Andi Weimann is now an option, too. Albion acted quickly, relative to their financial barriers, to add an experienced and versatile forward to Corberan's ranks this month. Bristol City loanee Weimann has played as a lead striker, a more deeper role and in wide positions across his long career and is a welcome addition to the armoury.

Thomas-Asante, 25, has won praise this term for his high energy and workrate despite having to play so many games this season. Only three outfield players – Okay Yokuslu, Kyle Bartley and Cedric Kipre – have started more league games.

“If you analyse our three strikers, every one is different,” said Corberan. “Josh Maja is a striker that likes to link the play and drop, he can play as a No.10, or a No.9.

“Asante is a striker with a lot of fight and running mentality, the level of work he can put on the pitch is unbelievable, because he competes for every single ball. He played the previous four games in a row and played every minute, or close to every minute.

“He is never affected by the previous minutes to the next one, he recovers very well. He has a very positive hard-working mentality.

“And Dike is different to the other two, because he is more of a striker in the box, that knows how to be in the box to use his instincts to score goals. I like our three strikers – unfortunately we don’t have the three (available), but fortunately now we have two.”

Dike netted on his return after almost nine months out in the FA Cup against Aldershot earlier this month and gave a bright cameo against Blackburn on Saturday.

Corberan added: “It’s key after we lost Josh Maja to have the comeback of Dike because it’s important to have two strikers, at least, in the Championship.

“If not it’s going to be very difficult to win football games, if you don’t have at least two strikers.

“Normally when you play in a row and something happens, you need to change something, change the strikers from one game to another, to have him ready to go again is important.”

There have been calls from supporters for Corberan to look into using 10-goal top scorer Thomas-Asante as a left winger, inside-left – a role he regularly played at former club Salford in League Two.

Those may grow again now due to Dike’s availability, though the head coach is unconvinced, especially after a couple of attempts last season.

He is likely to favour the approach of a rotation policy to keep both centre-forwards fresh and hungry.

“I did once, or twice, last year. We did it against Rotherham away, we played with both, Asante was playing in the left and after 25 or 30 minutes I changed it with Swift in the left and Asante as a striker with Dike,” said the Baggies boss.

“I did it last year in the first half against Stoke away, and after we changed with the injury to Dike and we put Grant in the left.”

“I prefer Asante as a striker than as a winger, even if I know he was playing as a winger.

“But it’s true it’s one thing you prefer and another the needs you have. Another is the context of the game – it’s not the same to be a winger when defending counter-attacks or when you have the ball attacking. It’s not the same to be a winger wide, on the line to make crosses, or to make runs in behind like a second striker from the wing.

“Asante as a winger? I don’t see Asante as a crossing player, not like Tom Fellows. Is Tom Fellows a striker? No. He can play there but doesn’t have the same behaviours as Asante.”

There may also be a temptation to go with both strikers together but Corberan prefers one man up front. “Am I happy with Asante as a striker? Yes. Am I happy with Dike as a striker? Yes. Can they play together? I think playing as a two, yes, but it wouldn’t be my priority to play with both, because they are similar with what they can offer,” Corberan said.

“It means they cannot play together? No. They can play together. But then are you attacking and putting a lot of balls in the box without using a playmaker? Will you put the ball in the box without a playmaker’s deliveries? The fact you are attacking depends on what your playmaker is doing. Put your playmaker out and another striker in and maybe you stop doing things you were doing.

“That’s the work as a coach, that’s why sometimes our changes from the bench can help, or they can destroy what we were creating and can do something different.”