Opinion: Why West Brom still need two of their transfer targets to complete attacking puzzle

West Bromwich Albion completed their first signing of the summer on Thursday evening with John Swift joining on the expiration of his contract at Reading.

The 26-year-old was integral to the Royals’ cause last term, with his 11 goals and 13 assists in 38 league appearances playing a huge part in keeping them afloat in the second tier and because of this, it was no surprise to see him move on from the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

Considering there was Premier League interest in his services during the 2021/22 campaign though, it was a shock for many to see him end up at The Hawthorns after Albion’s underwhelming first season back in the Championship.

Nonetheless, this is a real coup for the second-tier side who have taken a step towards solving their attacking woes, with their record going forward proving to be costly to their promotion chances last term.

In fact, only Karlan Grant managed to step up and have a respectable season in front of goal for the West Midlands side apart from Andy Carroll, who has already departed the Baggies.

Still, they will be hoping Daryl Dike can have an injury-free season during 2022/23 as he looks to repay the £7m invested in him and considering the American scored nine goals in 19 league appearances for Barnsley during his spell at Oakwell, they will be hoping he can become their talisman up top.

With Dike, Grant, and Swift all set to play an important part for Albion next term, that’s three of their five potential attack-minded slots filled if they are to go with a 4-2-3-1 system. Bruce has already revealed he wants to switch to a back four, so this is a real possibility.

Some would argue there should only be four players focused on pushing forward in this system – but Swift can sit back