West Brom forward seals late deadline day exit after firm decision made

West Bromwich Albion have offloaded striker Devante Cole on a free transfer on a deadline day, with the Baggies agreeing to the mutual termination of the journeyman striker’s contract to allow him to sign for Port Vale.

West Brom have confirmed that the 30-year-old Cole will join up with former Baggies boss Darren Moore at Vale Park having spent one year with West Brom. The former Manchester City youth prospect had not featured yet this season and will now continue his career at a lower level.

Devante Cole set for Port Vale switch

Cole, a former England age group international who had played for 10 different clubs in England and Scotland before signing for West Brom last summer, will leave halfway through his two-year deal. Cole made 16 appearances in all competitions last season but failed to score a goal and was not a part of Ryan Mason’s plans for the 2025/26 campaign. As such, he has been allowed to leave in order to join Moore at Vale Park in League One.

The striker had been a prolific goalscorer for Barnsley at League One level but struggled to reach the standards expected by West Brom and swiftly found himself on the fringes of the starting XI.

Cole, who has made nearly 400 senior appearances since making his debut for Barnsley as a young loanee in the 2014/15 season, will now join his twelfth professional club as he goes in search of his 100th goal – Cole has hit 92 so far in his career but was unable to add to an impressive tally at the Hawthorns. The club said in an official statement that it thanked Cole “for his efforts” and “wished him well for the future.”

West Brom look for late deals as Devante Cole becomes latest to leave

Cole becomes the latest player to leave the club having been deemed surplus to Mason’s requirements, and his exit follows those of players including Semi Ajayi, John Swift and Gianluca Frabotta this summer. In the closing moments of the transfer window, however, the focus will be on new signings with the arrival of experienced full-back Charlie Taylor announced after a season-long loan deal was agreed with Southampton.

Taylor is perhaps best known for his successful seven-year spell with Burnley but the 31-year-old struggled to get regular game time after signing for the Saints ahead of their unsuccessful Premier League campaign last season. There have also been remarkable reports suggesting that West Brom could even consider a late move for striker Sasa Kalajdzic, who currently plays for bitter rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers – although those claims remain very much unconfirmed.

Less controversially, West Brom are of a number of Championship sides linked with a late loan bid for young West Ham United midfielder George Earthy, who is said to have attracted widespread interest in the second tier.

The Baggies will hope to have one or two new faces in their ranks when they return to Championship action against Derby County on Saturday 13 September after the forthcoming international break.