Striker duo linked with West Brom

The Baggies boss has gone on record multiple times to say he wants additions in January – but he always stopped short of saying exactly where he wants to strengthen his squad.

But that changed after his side were held to a goalless draw at Barnsley on Friday – with Albion missing a number of glorious opportunities in that game.

The trip to Oakwell was not the first time Ismael's side has lacked a cutting edge – with the Baggies having drawn a number of games this season they should have won.

Orlando City's prolific forward Daryl Dike – who worked with Ismael at Barnsley last season – is one player the boss is interested in signing.

While in the summer, Albion were among a host of clubs who said they would be keen to take Liam Delap on loan should Manchester City make the striker available for a temporary move.

Now Barnsley's Woodrow and Brentford's Forss are the latest players to be linked with a move to The Hawthorns after Ismael said he is eager to sign a forward early in the window.

Woodrow scored 15 times for Ismael's Barnsley side last season. He has just four this term. And with 18 months left on his contract, the former Fulham forward would command a transfer fee.

Forss is no stranger to The Hawthorns after joining Albion from his native Finland aged just 13.

But he was released in May 2017 before then being picked up by Brentford.

Forss scored 11 goals for the Bees last season as they won promotion to the Premier League. But he has so far failed to get off the mark in the top flight.

And that has led to reports that he has been made available for loan with Albion, Sheffield United and Forest among the clubs claimed to be keen.

Speaking after the Barnsley game Ismael pulled no punches when asked if he needs to sign a striker.

“It’s been many weeks now that our target is clear in the front position," he said.

"It is a reality that you need to score goals to win games.

“You need the player who is able to score goals. We have KG (Karlan Grant), we have Robbo (Callum Robinson), but we need more support, more impact to make sure we can win games.

“We have to do something on one of the front three positions.

“We’re trying everything. It’s clear that it’s better if you can get a player in as quickly as possible and not wait until the last minute because we have so many games. We need to do something quickly.”