West Brom set to sign prolific striker ahead of Prem competition

United States forward Daryl Dike (11) runs in action during the CONCACAF Gold Cup Group B match between the United States and Canada

West Brom are set to sign American forward Daryl Dike from Orlando City SC, with boss Valerien Ismael already a huge fan.

Dike, 21, impressed in the MLS throughout 2021, bagging 11 goals from 19 appearances. TEAMtalk exclusively revealed in December that Leeds, Newcastle and West Ham were all discussing a potential move for the talented youngster. However, it is now believed the Baggies are likely to announce the signing of Dike as early as next week, according to Express & Star.

Dike previously played under Ismael at Barnsley throughout the 2020/21 season, scoring nine times from 21 Championship games.

The gaffer was impressed with Dike during his loan spell at The Tykes, and has made it clear he wishes to bring in a new forward this January.

Ismael also admitted he hopes to complete all January transfer business as early as possible.

He said:”In a perfect picture, in a perfect world, it’s good when you can get the player in quickly.

“Our job now is to understand what we want and get what we want as quickly as possible.

“The window is open and we must work intensely to get what we want.

“That’s my purpose. In the first week, if you can get what you want early it’s always the best thing.

“You can work with the player and we have got a lot of games.

“It’s not our purpose to wait until the last days. If we can get things done earlier, we will make sure we can do it.”

With that being said, it’s believed Dike could be in attendance at The Hawthorns in time for their match-up against Cardiff City.

Dike is expected to be in the crowd watching his new side face The Bluebirds tomorrow (2nd January).

Albion receive huge squad boost ahead of Cardiff fixture

Both Alex Mowatt and Karlan Grant have been cleared to play against Cardiff City.

The influential duo were out of action against Derby County last weekend, as the Baggies fell to a surprising 1-0 defeat.

However, both players have been given the green light to feature again following their positive results.

Ismael explained: “KG (Grant) received a negative PCR test after the (Derby) game.

“He missed the game due to a wrong positive test, lateral flow.

“He has trained since midweek completely, with the squad.

“Mowatt will be available for the game on Sunday.”