 In the absence through injury of strikers Cameron Jerome, Marlon King and Nikola Žigić, Asante was named in the 20-man squad for Birmingham's Europa League match against Nacional in Madeira in August.An unused substitute in the first leg, he made his first-team debut in the second leg on 25 August, replacing Chris Burke in the 88th minute as Birmingham won 3–0 to qualify for the group stage.On 1 January 2012, Asante moved to Northampton Town of League Two on a one-month loan deal.