Steve Bruce offers exciting update on seven-figure West Brom January arrival

West Bromwich Albion boss Steve Bruce has revealed that seven-figure January arrival Daryl Dike is one of a number of players “in good nick” as pre-season gets underway. 

The American joined the Baggies in the winter window from Orlando for around £8 million but his contributions in the second half of the 2021/22 Championship campaign were limited by injuries.

Dike enjoyed a phenomenal spell on loan at Barnsley previously – scoring nine goals in 22 games to fire them to the play-offs – and was meant to be the answer to West Brom’s striker issue but has managed just 84 minutes of football since his arrival in the West Midlands.

In order to ensure he was fit and firing for 2022/23, the 22-year-old was one of a number of players, including Alex Mowatt, Kenneth Zohore, and Conor Townsend, that took part in a training camp ahead of pre-season and it seems that has had the desired effect.

The players involved have now linked up with the rest of the squad as the Baggies ramp up their preparations for the new season and Bruce has provided an exciting update on their fitness.

Speaking to Birmingham Live, he said: “We set up a training camp in Portugal and took my staff out there with the physios. Dike and Zohore both did a couple of weeks, so did Townsend, so did Mowatt, so they’ve got themselves in good nick.

“The only ones missing are [Kyle] Bartley and Kean [Bryan].”

The Verdict

Starting the season with Dike fit and raring to go is an exciting prospect for West Brom, particularly given some of the new arrivals at the club this summer, so Bruce’s update on the January arrival is certainly a positive one.

We’ve seen what the 22-year-old can do in the Championship in the past but Baggies supporters are yet to really see what he