West Bromwich Albion boss Valerien Ismael admits they face a race to get forward Daryl Dike before their next league clash against Queens Park Rangers later on this month, speaking to his side's media team.

The United States international arrived at The Hawthorns on Saturday for a fee believed to be in the region of £7m, spending the second half of last season on loan at Barnsley under manager Valerien Ismael and recording an impressive nine goals in 19 appearances for the Tykes.

Making a real impression in England, he has been the subject of interest from the likes of Crystal Palace and Leeds United in recent months, but has chosen to remain in the second tier and now looks set to be the Baggies' main talisman.

 

 

For a side that had failed to be clinical enough in front of goal throughout the majority of the 2021/22 campaign, his arrival was much-needed but didn't arrive in time to play a part in yesterday evening's 1-1 draw against Cardiff City.

However, Ismael has since revealed he wouldn't have been included regardless, with the MLS season ending in the latter stages of November and the 21-year-old not being in action for former side Orlando City since then.

Albion are in action against Brighton in the FA Cup this weekend, but boss Ismael is looking beyond then to the QPR clash in just under a fortnight - and understands the challenge they face in getting the forward fit in time for then.

He said: "We need to build him (Dike) up. He’s been in the off-season with Orlando so has been on holiday for four weeks.

"Now we need to make a small pre-season with him to make sure he is prepared.

"We have two weeks until the next Championship game and it’s our job to make sure he’s ready for QPR."

The Verdict:

Making sure he's fully fit before playing him has to be Ismael's main priority at this stage, because an injury on his debut would be a disaster for a side that desperately needed a talisman like him to come in and make the difference.

It would be a massive blow because of the fact he will probably be the only high-profile signing of the window for the Baggies, especially with the club's conservative spending policy in the summer and the fact they have reportedly spent as much as £7m on him.

So whilst there's a real desperation to see him in action, an understandable desperation considering the Baggies' lack of cutting edge in attack, he must be 100% fit enough and this means taking caution not just when he makes his first appearance, but also during training.

Pushing him further than his limits could be costly at this stage despite there needing to be an intense training schedule to get him back up to speed - but when he does get to full fitness - he is likely to be a crucial asset to this team.

Another forward may be good to provide more competition for the US international - but the promotion chasers may have already spent all of their January budget just a few days in.