Solomon Brandon Michael Clarke Thomas-Asante (born 29 December 1998) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a forward for EFL Championship club

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...

. Thomas-Asante began his career with

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

, where he made his professional debut aged in 2016 aged 17. After spells on loan with

Sutton United Sutton United Football Club is a professional football club in Sutton, South London, England, who play in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. They play home games at Gander Green Lane in Sutton about 11 miles so ...

and

Oxford City Oxford City Football Club is a semi-professional English association football club based in Marston, Oxford. They currently compete in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football, and play their home matches at Marsh Lane. ...

, he left Milton Keynes in 2019, spending a short spell at

Ebbsfleet United Ebbsfleet United Football Club is a professional football club based in Northfleet, Kent, England. As of the 2021–22 season, the club competes in the National League South, the sixth tier of English football. The club was formed in 1946 fr ...

before signing for Salford City. While at Salford, he won his first trophy, the

2019–20 EFL Trophy The 2019–20 EFL Trophy, known as the Leasing.com Trophy for sponsorship reasons, was the 37th season in the history of the competition, a knock-out tournament for English football clubs in League One and League Two of the English football syste ...

Club career

Milton Keynes Dons

Thomas-Asante joined

' academy at the age of 12, progressing through various age groups and into the club's development squad. On 6 August 2016, following an impressive pre-season, he made his debut for the first team, featuring as a substitute in the 75th minute in a 1–0 away win to

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of English football. The club plays its home games at the New Meadow, having mo ...

. On 12 September, Thomas-Asante signed professional terms with the club, signing a one-year deal with an option of a further year. On 5 November, he scored his first professional goal for the club, scoring in a 3–2 home

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

first round win over

Spennymoor Town Spennymoor Town Football Club is a football club based in Spennymoor, County Durham, in the North East of England. They currently compete in and currently play their home matches at The Brewery Field. The club began playing in the Northern ...

. On 2 May 2017, following an impressive first season as a professional, Thomas-Asante was awarded the club's Academy Player of the Year for 2016–17. On 14 June, Thomas-Asante's contract was extended until summer 2018, and on 26 January 2018 was extended a further year until the summer of 2019.

Loans, departure, spell with Ebbsfleet United

After a brief loan spell with

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

club

, Thomas-Asante joined National League South club

in late January 2019 until the end of the season, eventually going on to make 15 appearances and scoring three goals. Following limited first team opportunities during the 2018–19 season, Thomas-Asante confirmed on 11 May he would be leaving Milton Keynes following the expiry of his contract in June. After a spell on trial with

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...

, Thomas-Asante signed for

club

on 9 August 2019.

Salford City

He then signed for Salford City making his debut for the club on 3 September 2019 in a EFL Trophy match against Aston Villa Under 21's. He made his league debut for the club as a substitute on 14 September. His first goal for the club came on Boxing Day, scoring Salford's second in the 12th minute of a 3–1 victory against

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...

. He finished the 2019–20 campaign with six goals from 26 appearances in all competitions. On 28 November 2020, Thomas-Asante received the first red-card of his career for a reckless foul on Newport County goalkeeper Tom King, as Salford exited the FA Cup at the second round. He scored his first goal of the season against Leicester City U23s in the EFL Trophy group match that ended in a 3–3 draw after 90 minutes, eventually losing 9–8 on penalties in which he converted his penalty. He played for Salford in the delayed

2020 EFL Trophy final The 2020 EFL Trophy Final (known for sponsorship reasons as the 2020 Papa John's Trophy Final) was a football match played at Wembley Stadium on 13 March 2021. It decided the winners of the 2019–20 EFL Trophy, the 36th edition of EFL Trophy, th ...

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 2002 to 2003. The stadium ...

against

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

. Thomas-Asante converted his penalty in the shootout as Salford won the final. On 19 March 2022, Thomas-Asante scored his first career

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

in a 5–1 home victory over Scunthorpe United.

West Bromwich Albion

On 31 August 2022, Thomas-Asante signed for EFL Championship club

on a three-year contract for a fee reported to be in the region of £300,000, rejecting a move to

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Sin ...

. On 2 September 2022, Thomas-Asante made his debut and scored his first goal, a 98th-minute equaliser for West Brom in a 1–1 home draw against

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

. Thomas-Asante finished his first West Brom season as the club's top goalscorer of the season with 9 goals, 7 of which in the league. His volley against Stoke City in November was voted as West Brom's 2022–23 goal of the season.

International career

In December 2023, Thomas-Asante was pre-called up by the Ghana national football team for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

Personal life

Born in England, Thomas-Asante is of Ghanaian and Jamaican descent.

Career statistics

Honours

Salford City * EFL Trophy: 2019–20 Individual *

Academy Player of the Year: 2016–17 * EFL Championship Goal of the Month: November 2022 * Salford City Goal of the Month: October 2021, November 2021 *

Goal of the Season: 2022–23

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas-Asante, Brandon Living people 1998 births English men's footballers English people of Ghanaian descent Sportspeople of Ghanaian descent English people of Jamaican descent Sportspeople of Jamaican descent Men's association football forwards Milton Keynes Dons F.C. players Sutton United F.C. players Oxford City F.C. players Ebbsfleet United F.C. players Salford City F.C. players West Bromwich Albion F.C. players English Football League players Footballers from Milton Keynes Black British sportsmen