West Bromwich Albion were left frustrated after they were beaten 1-0 by their Midlands rivals Birmingham City in the Championship at The Hawthorns on Saturday.

The Baggies have now lost their last two matches, both against teams from the Midlands, either side of the extended international break, without scoring a single goal.

August Priske scored the only goal of the game in the match on Saturday by slotting away a penalty after being fouled by Nat Phillips, who made contact with him whilst jumping in the box.

Whilst the Blues won the match, thanks to a goal from their centre-forward, both Birmingham and West Brom should be in the market for a new striker when the January transfer window opens.

Why Birmingham and West Brom need new strikers

Priske's penalty was only his second goal in eight starts in the Championship this season for Chris Davies' side, and his strike partner Jay Stansfield has only scored one goal in nine outings in the division.

Meanwhile, Aune Heggebo played 70 minutes for the Baggies in the match on Saturday and came off the pitch without a shot on target or a chance created, and he only completed four of his eight attempted passes.

The Norwegian centre-forward has now only scored two goals in eight appearances in the Championship this season, one of which was handled into the net against Norwich City on the opening day.

None of West Brom or Birmingham's players are close to the top of the scoring charts in the second tier, as Middlesbrough's Will Lankshear, signed from Spurs in the summer, has been one of the standout stars in the league.

The England U21 international has scored nine goals in 12 games in all competitions, including a winning goal against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.

West Brom and Birmingham should both be aiming to bring in strikers who can perform at a similar level to Lankshear if they are serious about earning promotion to the Premier League.

How West Brom or Birmingham can sign their own Lankshear

Both Midlands sides should use the upcoming January transfer window to bolster their frontline with more firepower, particularly in the striker position.

It was recently claimed that Birmingham City and Wrexham are two of the teams eyeing up a possible move for Djurgardens centre-forward Kristian Stromland Lien in January.

Both sides are keeping tabs on his performances in the 2026 campaign and are yet to make a formal approach to open talks with the Swedish club about a deal for his services.

Because Wrexham and the Blues are yet to initiate contact with Djurgardens, the door remains open for West Brom to swoop in to make him their own version of Lankshear.

The Baggies have not been linked with an interest in the Norwegian attacker, yet, but they are in need of a new number nine and should challenge Birmingham to his signature.

Lien's form in the Allsvenskan this year suggests that he has the goalscoring quality to arrive in the Championship and make a Lankshear-esque impact at the top end of the pitch.

In fact, the 25-year-old striker's statistics suggest that he could be even more clinical than the Middlesbrough frontman, as he has a higher conversion rate and hits the target with a higher percentage of his shots.

Lien, who has scored 17 goals in all competitions in 2026, has shown that he can score goals consistently and efficiently as a centre-forward in the Swedish top-flight, in the same way that Lankshear has in the Championship.

The Djurgardens star is unproven in the Championship and in English football, of course, but his statistics suggest that it is a risk that is worth taking for Birmingham or West Brom, given their struggles in the number nine position this season.

James Morrison and Chris Davies both need a striker who can score goals week-in-week-out, as Lankshear is currently doing for Boro, and Lien seems to have the potential to be that player for them.

That is why the Baggies must join the race to sign the 17-goal striker when the January transfer window opens, and ensure that they can convince him to pick them over Birmingham.