'Privilege': West Brom striker sold for £2.5m set for World Cup showdown with England

Two seasons ago Brandon Thomas-Asante was hoping to kick on at Albion as they began to prepare for another Championship promotion push.

Fast forward to now and the former Baggies striker, sold to Coventry in 2024 for £2.5m, is a Premier League player and heading to the World Cup where he is set to take on England.

It has been a whirlwind few years for the striker, who was sold by the Baggies as the owners Bilkul battled with off-field financial issues.

He scored six times in his first season for the Sky Blues, before his 13 goals last season helped Frank Lampard’s men win the Championship title.

His form last season coincided with Thomas-Asante becoming a more regular fixture in the Ghana squad. And this week he received one of the ultimate accolades, as he was named in the squad for the World Cup.

He came off the bench for his nation on Tuesday in a warm-up game against Wales - and is now pushing for a place in the side ahead of the group stage games with Croatia, Panama and the Three Lions.

He has been handed the number ten jersey for the Black Stars, and has explained that reaching a World Cup with Ghana is a dream he has had since he was a child.

He also revealed how he wrote down his World Cup goal on a piece of paper at the beginning of the season - prior to his promotion winning campaign with Coventry.

He said: “It's always the biggest privilege, you know. It's something that since I was young, when I was going to the games, to pray and to believe and to dream of achieving it one day and now to be here is incredible.

“I know that there's a lot of people, you know, in Ghana and all around the world that are really wishing us well. So, we want to go and do them proud, and I understand how much it means and it means so much to me personally.

“You know, from the start of the season before I kicked the ball, I wrote down on a piece of paper that I wanted to be here. And of course, you know, to be able to work in that direction and to be here now is an incredible privilege.

“I think it took a while to sink in because, you know, to play in the World Cup or to be able to prepare for the World Cup is something. Like I say, from a child, it's what I've been praying for.

“So, when it's come now, it takes a while to really realise that, you know, to be in this camp is incredible. And I just want to take the opportunity to say that we're proud to be here.”