Door is still open for Kenneth Zohore to make a West Brom return

The Baggies signed Zohore from Cardiff in July 2019 in a deal that had the potential to be worth £8million.

But the Dane has struggled to make an impact ever since first stepping foot in The Hawthorns.

Zohore made just six starts in his first season at the club.

He was then shipped out on loan to Millwall last season.

And it’s understood the Baggies tried to offload the forward again during the summer but were unable to find any takers.

With Ismael’s arrival giving everyone a clean slate, Zohore was introduced off the bench against Bournemouth during Albion’s opening game of the season.

He was then given another chance to impress from the bench against Luton.

But the striker went on to put in an underwhelming display. And since then he hasn’t featured in any of Albion’s Championship squads.

Zohore, though, has played well for the under-23s.

And Ismael will not rule out the striker making a first-team return – with the boss saying things can quickly change for out-of-favour players, particularly if there is a succession of injuries like the ACL injury Kean Bryan recently suffered.

“At the minute it’s early – you never know what can happen,” Ismael said, when asked if Albion will look to offload Zohore when the transfer window opens in January.

“You see with Kean Bryan, that situation. After every game the situation can change.

“For Ken, it’s about patience, work, he wants to play every time with the under-23s which is a good sign. He wants to stay in the rhythm. He trains well. He is our player so everyone needs to be involved, stay focused and involved and you never know.”

Despite keeping the door open for Zohore, it is believed Ismael does want to sign another centre forward when the transfer window reopens in January.

Orlando City’s Daryl Dike – who scored nine goals in 13 starts for Ismael at Barnsley last season – is understood to be his number one target.

But the 21-year-old’s outstanding form in the MLS means he may be out of Albion’s price range.

Speaking last week, Ismael hinted he is still waiting to find out what funds he will have to spend in the window.

“We need to see what the club can invest and what is the budget before we make our decisions,” the Frenchman said.

“Or we need to be creative like we were in the summer. We will see. But we know exactly what we need.

“January isn’t the best window because players need to make an impact straight away. But you can still pick up the right player.”