Chris Brunt: West Brom have ‘got to replace’ influential duo before Premier League return
Chris Brunt has questioned whether West Brom could replace both Callum Robinson and Grady Diangana this summer at the Hawthorns.
The Baggies legend admitted that the loan market has been utilised superbly during their time in the Championship, and was a major reason behind promotion.
There are still doubts over whether or not both Diangana and Robinson will return though, with stiff competition in the summer market.
Brunt believes that those two will desperately need to be replaced in the summer, and put that down to both Slaven Bilic and Luke Dowling.
“I think when you come out the Premier League, that is a big part of doing well in the championship,” he told the Express and Star.
“If you use those loans properly it’s great. But then, obviously, at the end of the season how do you replace that if you can’t get a Callum Robinson or a Grady Diangana back?
“You have got to replace that but that is why the manager is paid to be the manager and why Luke Dowling is paid to be the head of recruitment.”
Brunt is spot on and without Robinson and Diangana, it would be hard to suggest that the Baggies would have finished in the top-two.
Take a look at the final game against Queens Park Rangers for example – it was the influential duo who got the goals in the 2-2 draw that sealed promotion.
West Ham’s David Moyes has already admitted that he is looking forward to seeing Diangana in an Irons shirt next season, all-but-ending the Baggies hope of a permanent switch.
Reliable journalist Alan Nixon reported earlier in the year that it was “always the plan” for Robinson to remain at the Hawthorns past this season so that one could be much simpler than the Diangana deal.
Either way, Brunt is right to suggest that West Brom need to either secure both or find a replacement that can have the same effect on Bilic’s squad next season.
In other West Brom news, we take a look at how the Baggies could look in their first Premier League game of the season
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