Athletic journalist posts update on West Brom striker hunt, prolific £15m-rated ace tops bill
Athletic journalist Steve Madeley has delivered an update on strikers West Brom are looking at for their return to the Premier League.
In a Q&A posted on Wednesday morning, Madeley has said that Huddersfield striker Karlan Grant is a player that West Brom have looked at before.
Madeley says he’d be “surprised” if West Brom aren’t back in for him in this transfer window and says he comes with the bonus of being a proven Championship striker if West Brom are relegated.
Madeley added: “I know that might not be the approach the fans want to hear about, but in this post-COVID financial landscape, at a club where the owner does not invest his own money, it is a sensible model when effectively starting from scratch again in Premier League terms after the “reboot” of two years back in the Championship.”
The other striker Madeley talks about is Ollie Watkins, although he said this is a “long shot” as a lot of clubs are looking at him.
Of course, there’s the obligatory link with Dwight Gayle, too, but Madeley said, “He’ll be the wrong side of 30 a month into next season so I think the fee and wages package would have to be reasonable for the club to pursue a deal for a player who would have minimal sell-on value.”
Grant fits the bill
Watkins seems like more than a long shot to us, if the stories about West Brom’s summer budget is correct.
Bilic is said to have £25m in total, which is the money that Brentford are looking to get for Watkins.
With a number of clubs looking at him after his standout season in the Championship, we can’t see West Brom being able to pull that one off.
Grant could be different. Sky had said that Grant could be available for £15m but given the state of the summer transfer market and the fact that Huddersfield aren’t in great financial shape, we think his price could drop.
Grant scored 0.45 goals a game for Huddersfield and had an xG of 0.38 [WyScout]. 19 goals in the Championship is a pretty staggering return for a team who finished 18th in the Championship.
Grant has Premier League experience and scored round about one-in-three in his short time in the top-flight, which makes us think he could thrive under Bilic.
In other West Brom news, Sky Sports journalist has detailed two problems causing Albion difficulties in the transfer window
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