West Bromwich Albion fans will be excited about the prospect of what their club’s September could hold, after seeing their beloved Baggies team pick up three wins from four league games in August.
Players that were once stuck on the fringes at the Hawthorns have also now sparked into life, with Josh Maja boasting four goals to his name already after finding his first campaign in the West Midlands was hampered by injury concerns, whilst Karlan Grant has also found himself back in the starting XI after being loaned out to Cardiff City last season.
Away from a number of unlikely heroes now stepping up to the mark, Carlos Corberan will be overjoyed that he has Mikey Johnston back at his disposal after he sealed a dramatic return to the Championship promotion candidates late on in the transfer window.
Mikey Johnston’s return to West Brom
Arguably, the Baggies fanbase needed a statement signing after somewhat of a disorienting window, with Conor Townsend, Brandon Thomas-Asante, Okay Yokuslu and Cedric Kipre all deserting Corberan’s men one after the other.
Winning the now former Celtic man back for £3m will be seen as an unbelievable bit of business away from this mass exodus, especially if Johnston manages the reach the heights he achieved last season on loan in the second tier across this campaign to come.
Johnston steamrolled his way into the English game as an exciting and daring left-wing option for the Baggies, with seven goals and two assists managed from just 20 contests in total.
The Republic of Ireland international will hope he can notch up even more goals and assists now, as Corberan’s men strive to be in and around the promotion spots again this campaign, cementing his reputation further as a top performer at the level.
He is some way off being immortalised into the West Brom hall-of-fame for his sublime strikes though, unlike this former Baggies cult hero who – if he moved in 2024 – would actually cost the West Midlands side more into today’s inflated market according to TotallyMoney’s Transfer Index.
Peter Odemwingie’s transfer value in 2024
Using the index, which takes into account the outrageous inflation surrounding deals in the here and now, ex-West Brom goal machine Peter Odemwingie would cost his team a bumper £7.4m if a move happened in 2024, which is a lot higher than the £2.7m originally forked out for him in 2010.
The eccentric attacker would justify that price increase too when you take a glance at his fantastic goalscoring numbers donning a West Brom strip.
The former Nigeria international would power home 31 strikes for the Baggies across three seasons in the Premier League, with his debut campaign even seeing him tally up a ridiculous 24 goal contributions from just 32 top-flight clashes.
| Top five PL goalscorers – 2010/11 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Games | Goals |
| 1. Carlos Tevez | Manchester City | 31 | 20 |
| 2. Dimitar Berbatov | Manchester United | 32 | 20 |
| 3. Robin Van Persie | Arsenal | 25 | 18 |
| 4. Darren Bent | Sunderland + Aston Villa | 36 | 17 |
| 5. Peter Odemwingie | West Brom | 32 | 15 |
| Sourced by Transfermarkt | |||
Only six off surpassing Carlos Tevez’s golden booting winning exploits that same season, Odemwingie’s electric time with the Baggies would, unfortunately, end on bad terms after he infamously tried to push through a deadline day move to Queens Park Rangers in 2013.
Still, he was very much fondly remembered by those with West Brom connections as an exciting striker to watch when he announced his retirement six years later.
Johnston will hope he can dazzle crowds in a similar manner back at the Hawthorns, as he strives to jump up to the level Odemwingie thrived in with his new employers.
