West Brom need to make transfer priority before window shuts to avoid yet another repeat of key problem

It has arguably been something that has hampered them in their pursuit of not just a play-off spot but the Premier League.

And it is depth in the striking department, or a lack of it.

With Albion heading into their fifth straight Championship campaign - they have Aune Heggebo, the new £4.7m who looks likely to lead the line.

He is leading the line as he comes in as a big money signing and is obviously rated by boss Ryan Mason.

But you could argue he's also leading the line because Albion have, yet again, suffered injuries in the striking department.

We know Devante Cole is very much a squad player, while Daryl Dike has again suffered an injury set back which is going to see him miss the opening weeks of the season.

Elsewhere, Josh Maja has continued his recovery from injury throughout the summer and has played only once in pre-season. Mason has indicated he could be ready for Blackburn in the opener on Saturday.

But it will be as a player in the squad rather than a starter, you would imagine.

So heading into the campaign, it leaves Albion in a position they have found themselves in the past, light at the top end of the field.

A lot of it boils down to having rotten luck with injuries. Dike has repeatedly pulled up, whether it be bigger injuries or smaller knocks, and then Maja hasn't featured since the start of 2025.

His injury came down to the fact he was flogged from the start of the campaign, with Albion having no able replacement.

I've written in the past that it is a cycle Albion have had to endure because of rotten luck with injuries. This season has to be the one they avoid it.

And at the moment the only way they avoid it is by strengthening further in the transfer window.

It seems they may do that, having been linked to a striker in Spain last week, which has come on the back of speculation linking them with another possible move for Will Lankshear.

But of the transfer priorities now, of which there are a few, another forward needs to be at the top of it.

We've seen the struggles you can have by having just one frontline striker, and given the injury record of the other two major players at the top end of the field, it is a must.

It is a must to avoid Mason being in the same position as a number of those who have come before him.