“Return to bite them,” – Carlton Palmer responds to West Brom’s plan to make a summer transfer
Karlan Grant’s departure from West Brom this summer is discussed by Carlton Palmer.
As their attacking injury problems continue, West Brom’s decision to allow Karlan Grant to join Cardiff City may come back to haunt them.
Due to Josh Maja’s injury, Brandon Thomas-Asante is the only senior number nine who is healthy, exposing West Brom’s lack of options up front.
Grant may not have had stellar statistics at Cardiff, but his pace and desire made him a constant threat down the left, so West Brom might have regretted letting him go.
As their attacking injury woes mount, Carlton Palmer thinks West Brom may come to regret letting Karlan Grant go with Cardiff City this summer.
Josh Maja set for lengthy period out
It was a tough summer for Carlos Corberan, with the Albion chief having to operate on a strict budget due to the financial issues that have hindered the club in recent years.
So, the Baggies probably didn’t do the business they would’ve wanted, although one player that did join was Josh Maja.
The former Sunderland man has been eased in so far this season, but he is now set for a spell out, after he picked up an ankle injury during what was an impressive cameo against Bristol City last time out.
With Maja going to miss eight weeks of action, it leaves Brandon Thomas-Asante as the only fit senior number nine.
Therefore, some may question whether Albion were right to let Grant go, as he would have been a decent option to have in this situation. And, speaking to FLW, Palmer echoed those thoughts.
The injuries to Dike and Maja have left Brandon Thomas-Asante as the only fit centre-forward at the club. The decision to let Karlan Grant go has come back to bite them a little bit. I did think at the time with Grant’s versatility, as he can play across the forward line, he gave you a lot of useful options. But, hindsight’s a wonderful thing.”
How has Karlan Grant done at Cardiff?
Based on the stats, it would be hard to say that Grant has been a big miss at The Hawthorns, as he has managed just one goal and one assist for the Bluebirds.
But, he has been a constant threat down the left, with his pace and drive making him a good outlet for Erol Bulut’s side, and the fact he keeps picking the 25-year-old shows that he is very happy with how he is contributing.
Will Albion regret letting Grant leave?
There’s no doubt that Grant would have been involved now, and you could make the case that he should have stayed until January considering they knew Daryl Dike was going to be out for a long time.
Nevertheless, Corberan clearly wasn’t a huge fan of the player, and it may have been a decision that was made for non-football reasons. It could be that financially the club wanted to shift his wages off the books, or simply that Grant was keen to leave as he wanted guaranteed game time, which would have to come elsewhere.
So, as Palmer says, it’s easy to judge in hindsight, and it probably is one the club regret at this very moment. However, there was no real outrage at the time, and Corberan still has enough quality in the squad to get results at this level.
What next for West Brom?
Corberan’s side are three without a win in the league, but he will have taken encouragement from aspects of the display at Watford last time out.
Next up, Albion have a home game against Millwall, which is at 3pm on Saturday.
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