View: Bilic must keep faith in West Brom 30y/o, stats say he will come good
There were a fair few West Brom fans who weren’t best pleased when Hal Robson-Kanu was offered a new contract that would see him stay at The Hawthorns until 2021.
A stat that reads 12 goals in 102 games is the reason, but Robson-Kanu has been showing why Slaven Bilic was keen to show him loyalty with a new deal, popping up with vital goals this season.
His penalty against Stoke on Monday night was his third goal in four games and he’ll be keen to push for another start after disappointing against Leeds.
His three goals have come from 11 shots of which six have been on target. That’s a pretty good efficiency rate although maybe not sustainable. His xG is 2.56. [https://wyscout.com/]
Compare and contrast with Kenneth Zohore and Charlie Austin and Robson-Kanu’s stats are good. Zohore has scored two from 10 shots (six on target) but both his goals have come from the penalty spot.
Austin, 30, has one goal from 25 shots with an xG of 5.33. So he’s either a terrible finisher (and we know he’s not) or just being unlucky at the moment.
All Robson-Kanu can do is keep it up and his argument for a start will get stronger. At the moment, though, Bilic should keep faith in Austin. Robson-Kanu will fast become a valuable super-sub if he keeps up his strike rate.
Thankfully, strikers not scoring isn’t currently hurting our drive for promotion, and there’s time for things to right themselves before the January window opens.
In other West Brom news, ‘I’m hearing it the whole time’ – Bilic delivers message to West Brom fans after 2-0 win v Stoke