West Bromwich Albion have secured the signing of long-term target Karlan Grant, with the forward signing a six-year contract with the club.
According to Sky Sports, the two sides settled on a £15m fee for the former Charlton forward, with most of the payments coming in future instalments.
The addition of the Englishman is the Baggies’ ninth signing of the window, having already brought in Matheus Pereira, Grady Diangana, Cedric Kipre, David Button, Branislav Ivanovic, Connor Gallagher, Callum Robinson, and Filip Krovinovic to bolster their squad for the season.
Grant is also yet to feature this season, with the striker missing all four of Huddersfield’s opening Championship fixtures.
West Brom need a striker
Four games into the Premier League, with just the singular point to show for their efforts, the Albion need a striker to fire in the goals – especially if the average of conceding over three goals a game continues for the rest of the season.
Although the rate of conceding goals is likely to slow down, with Leicester, Everton, Chelsea, and Southampton containing attacking firepower that can only be matched with a handful of teams in the league, there is no doubt that the Midlands side lack a clinical number nine.
Scoring five goals in their opening four games, blanking against the Foxes’ and the Saints’, only two of their strikes have come from their out-and-out forward.
Robinson was the man responsible. Brought in from Sheffield United after a successful Championship stint at the club, the 25-year-olds brace against the Blues’ in a 3-3 draw has shown he can be a capable backup when relied upon, but the three other matches where the Irishman didn’t get a sniff on goal shows that there was plenty of improvement to be had in the forward areas.
Why Karlan Grant?
This is where Grant steps in. Playing for a relegation battling Huddersfield last season, the Englishman scored 19 goals, as well as getting four assists – having a hand in just under half of the Terriers 52 goals last campaign.
Despite the Albion scoring 25 more goals than Huddersfield, Grant notched nine more strikes than any Baggies’ player, with Charlie Austin top-scoring with 10.
Starting 42 games last term (which is also 18 more than any West Brom striker) Grant usually played off of the left-hand side, either making runs in behind the defence to latch onto the ball, or cutting in and using his quick feet to shift the ball onto his right foot to slot the ball in at the far post, or drive it home at the near one.
Joining the Terriers' midway through the 2018/19 season, three 23-year-old has also got a small amount of Premier League experience under his belt. Although his side got relegated that very season, Grant was still able to score four goals in just under 900 minutes of top division action, with this being his first taste of topflight football.
During the window, West Brom were also linked with target man strikers, such as Troy Deeney and Emmanuel Adebayor. The pair both present a host of experience at Premier League level, but are not the sort of striker that would suit the Baggies system.
Playing a counter-attacking based system, with Slaven Bilic of the knowledge that his side do not have the quality to blow teams away with their attacking arsenal like they did last season, the Croatian has adopted more of a conservative approach.
Breaking with pace suits Grant, with the likes of Diangana and Robinson already profiting this season due to their speed.
Watford forward Deeney is more adept at holding up the ball and brining others into play, with such as striker not as useful to West Brom as a man able to break with speed and put opposition defenders on the backfoot.
The end for Charlie Austin and Kenneth Zohore at West Brom
Grant coming to the Hawthorns opens the door for Austin to depart the club. Yet to feature in the league this season, with both appearances coming in the Carabao Cup, the Baggies’ and the player will be looking for possible suitors before tomorrow’s deadline.
However, with the Birmingham Live reporting that a possible switch to Derby County has collapsed, the future is now unknown for the 31-year-old, who is more likely to now leave the club during the January window.
Even without the addition of Grant, it is almost certain that Kenneth Zohore yet to feature in the league or cup this season.
The 26-year-old, who has been linked with moves to both Sheffield Wednesday and Derby, scored 3 goals in the Championship for the Albion last season, playing 15 games in the process.
What has been said
Technical and Sporting Director Luke Dowling was delighted with the addition of Grant, admitting that the former Huddersfield man was a long-term target of the club.
“We are confident we have signed a young player who has proved he is ready for the challenges of the Premier League. He has scored goals throughout his career including the few months he had with Huddersfield at this level two years ago," Dowling said to the club website.
He concluded: “During this window we have largely focussed on bringing in talented, young players, who have all committed to the club with lengthy contracts, and Karlan is one we are particularly delighted to have here for the foreseeable future.”
Despite only having half a season of Premier League action under his belt, Grant has no concern over his ability to score at the top level.
“I’m 100% confident I can score goals in the Premier League,” said the new signing.
“I’m a striker and I like to score goals. I’ve scored goals for the last few years and I want to carry on doing that."
Joining the club the day before transfer deadline day, the forward showed his gratitude to the club, insisting that their desire to sign him was a big factor in moving to the club.
Grant said: “I first heard about the club’s interest in me back in January. I knew about it from then and the club came back in for me this summer. It’s been a long wait but I’m finally here now.
“It’s nice to know you are wanted. That was a big reason why I wanted to come here.
“As soon as I heard there was interest and I knew how much the club wanted me, this was the only place I wanted to come."