Daryl Dike has two clear aims and West Brom are set to benefit

Daryl Dike still feels like a new West Bromwich Albion signing. It’s been more than six months since the towering USA international hopped across the pond and agreed a move, but in that time supporters have seen just 84 precious minutes of him.

It’s hard not to be excited by Dike, and what he could bring to the table this coming season. He’s a young forward who cost a lot of money but who has all the potential in the world. Ten minutes chatting with him is enough to make you recognise that he has targets to hit, ambitions to realise.

The last six months must’ve been infuriating for him. The fanfare he arrived to quickly deflated and made way to pure frustration for the player himself and all associated with Albion. The man who pushed to bring him to the club was sacked a month after his arrival.

All Dike could do was watch on as his new teammates floundered in their attempts to secure a play-off place, unable to aid them, only capable of kicking his heels. This summer represents a fresh start for everybody. For Dike on the pitch, he may as well have arrived this summer.

“There’s a little bit of that, a little bit of not playing for a while,” he admitted, after a 45-minute run-out in the pre-season friendly win over Leyton Orient in the Algarve on Monday.

“Finding my feet again, with these coaching staff and the good group of players around me to push me and keep me going, I’ll be up to speed in no time. I’m confident in myself. With the help of the guys, I’ll be good.”

It could’ve been turbulent, being a 21-year-old lad in a different country and change happening all around you. The switch in coaching set-up was dramatic, so too it was at board level. Through it all, Dike was frequently complimented on his