 Asante signed his first professional contract, of two-and-a-half years, in January 2011.Injury kept him out for four months, but he was an unused substitute for Birmingham's last two Premier League games of the season, against Fulham and Tottenham Hotspur.He was part of the Birmingham squad for their 2011 pre-season visit to Ireland, and came close to scoring in the second half of the friendly against Cork City, when he appeared to be brought down after touching the ball past the goalkeeper, but no penalty was awarded.