West Bromwich Albion have not enjoyed the finest of starts to the Championship season, as they sit 21st, having won just once from ten games.
Steve Bruce has been crying out for a goal scorer, as his side only have 15 goals in these games (with five coming in one match). Brandon Thomas-Asante shows promise but is still raw, and Daryl Dike remains injured.
Has Karlan Grant been a success at West Brom?
That just leaves Karlan Grant to shoulder an incredible burden up front, which he has somewhat struggled with.
However, his career so far at the Hawthorns has to be viewed as something of a success.
Signed for £15m by Slaven Bilic, he only managed one Premier League goal in his debut season.
The season following, however, he was able to truly flex his muscles in front of goal. He scored an astounding 18 league goals in the Championship, proving that he has the capability to fire them back to the top-flight should he be handed the service. He also provided six assists that season.
He unsurprisingly was voted Players’ Player of the Season for that campaign, further solidifying the importance he will hold for the Baggies.
Paul Robinson had predicted that he would thrive that year too, as he claimed: “This season West Brom fans will see the best of Karlan Grant.”
He continued: “The Premier League was a big step up for him and he found it very difficult to start off with. He never gained his confidence and we never saw the brilliant player who was in the Championship.”
With just three league goals this season, he has endured a slow start.
But with his past being so laden with goals, 23 in fact for Albion, he is sure to come good once more sooner or later. When on form, there are few better in the division who could fire a side back up to the Premier League, and we might see that “brilliant player” once more.
The £15m outlay may have been significant at the time, but if one day he does score the goals necessary for a promotion, it will have been more than worth it. Indeed, the prize of a place in the top-flight is worth significantly more than Grant’s transfer fee.
