‘Slight gamble’ – Exclusive: Phillips claims West Brom rolled the dice on this 19/20 signing
We’re delighted to welcome former West Brom striker Kevin Phillips as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns…
Kevin Phillips has claimed that West Brom were taking a slight gamble when they signed Callum Robinson on loan from Sheffield United last month.
Robinson, 25, was signed by the Blades from Preston in the summer but he had not played a lot of football for them, starting just nine Premier League matches for Chris Wilder.
However since heading to The Hawthorns, Robinson is yet to play for a losing side with Albion winning four and drawing one of the five games he’s played in.
In his last two outings, Robinson has hit the back of the net against both Nottingham Forest and Bristol City, so if he was a gamble, then it has certainly paid off for Slaven Bilic.
“I think any player that’s come in that hasn’t played a lot of football, you’re so desperate to impress and it can either go one way or the other,” Phillips told West Brom News.
“He’s at Sheffield United for a reason, a Premier League club. He’s got quality otherwise he wouldn’t be there so it’s just about gaining that confidence, playing week in, week out. I
“It’s always a slight gamble bringing a player in. It’s not so much a gamble when you bring a player in when you’re top of the league and you’re playing well every week.
“It’s more bringing a Premier League player in because you’re not too sure how they’re going to adapt and how they’re going to handle it.
“I remember when I left Blackpool and went to Crystal Palace and Palace were second in the league at the time and it’s so much easier to go into a team that’s winning games than one that’s struggling to find points every week.”
You can understand what Phillips is saying because any signing that you make can go either way.
Many West Brom fans were worried about losing Grady Diangana in the January window as West Ham had the option to recall the winger, who had impressed so much for the Baggies before his recent injury blow.
Fans were mainly worried because last season saw Leicester recall Harvey Barnes and his replacements Jacob Murphy really failed to impress.
However it is fair to say that Robinson has more than done the job for West Brom so far and there is a chance he’ll keep Diangana out of the side if he is back to full fitness soon.
In other West Brom news, Bilic has shared an updated on the injured Diangana.