This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

West Brom boss Steve Bruce has suggested he will give out of favour Baggies forward Kenneth Zohore the opportunity to prove himself this summer.

Joining from Cardiff City in 2019 for a fee reported as potentially rising to £8 million, the 28-year-old has made just 23 Baggies appearances since, only two of which came for the club last campaign in the Championship.

The Baggies boss told BirminghamLive: “I’ve just seen Zohore work tirelessly all summer. For me he’s a new player. I know he hasn’t had the best of times here, but he’s here so can we get the best out of him?"

“I know he’s had a disappointing time here, I think that’s fair to say, you only have to look at his record and how many games he’s played."

“But he’s worked hard over the summer, and I’ve just seen him work there today, and it might just be. You never know. It’s on the big boy and he’s trying, let’s see what we can get out of him."

With the above in mind, we asked some of our writers here at FLW for their thoughts on whether or not Kenneth Zohore can resurrect his Baggies career.

Adam Jones

Zohore's situation at Albion feels like the continuation of a failed marriage.

You know it's coming to an end at some point and you know his time is already up - but Steve Bruce is seemingly willing to keep hold of him.

In fairness, this may not be the worst decision considering the lack of depth they have in the forward area at this stage - but a rebuild in their forward area with several new signings would be ideal.

For the sake of all parties, it's probably best he moved on in the coming months but it's unclear if any side would come in for him.

 

 

Marcus Ally

Steve Bruce set to give Kenneth Zohore another opportunity this pre-season - can he resurrect his WBA career? why/why not?

It felt a little harsh that Zohore never got a chance to stake a claim at The Hawthorns last season, even in periods where the Baggies struggled in the final third.

However, with the competition for places that is now present at the club and with Daryl Dike coming back from injury, it is very difficult to see how the 28-year-old will be able to become a regular fixture in the first team again.

The Dane did not see any league minutes under Steve Bruce in the final third of the campaign, and therefore this comes across like more of a nice gesture, to give him a chance in pre-season, than anything seriously in line with West Brom’s potential promotion push.

Charlie Gregory

Kenneth Zohore could be rejuvenated under the new leadership of Steve Bruce but it will take some doing and it might require a lot of effort to win Baggies fans back around.

Considering his last showings for the club, he isn’t in the best books with the club’s support. There were also no real signs that the player of old was in there and that’s worrying if he starts and produces the same kind of form.

Zohore though will have been disheartened to have been left out of the side - and a return under Bruce could breathe new life into the forward. If he can produce the goods, then Bruce could have an answer to all of his problems right under his nose.

The striker is capable - he’s proven it in the past - but it will take a lot of effort and probably some patience to see if the decision will pay dividends or not.