View – Bilic is too determined to sign risky danger man, surely West Brom can do better
Karlan Grant’s proposed move to West Brom has been the long running transfer saga of the summer in the West Midlands.
Yorkshire Live suggest that the deal for the Huddersfield striker has reached an impasse, mainly over how a potential fee would be paid, with the Baggies looking to pay in instalments, and the Terriers wanting the whole fee up front.
But Slaven Bilic doesn’t look like he wants to give up on Grant, after identifying the 23-year-old as the answer to West Brom’s striking issues.
Callum Robinson has stepped in to fill the void up front for Bilic, and impressed against Chelsea as he bagged himself a brace, but it remains to be seen if he can perform at that level consistently following two underwhelming outings against Leicester and Everton.
Huddersfield are reportedly demanding around £18 million for Grant, which is a hefty fee for a player with limited Premier League experience.
Grant has made 13 appearances in the English top flight, all for Huddersfield, and managed to tally up four goals. Is a player with that kind of record really who Bilic thinks is the key to keeping the Baggies in the Premier League?
Granted, he did score 19 goals in 43 Championship games last season, which is a decent record in a team that was in a relegation fight.
Grant was actually joint fourth top scorer in England’s second tier last term, finishing eight goals behind Fulham’s Aleksandar Mitrovic.
But last time Grant was in a top flight relegation battle he couldn’t fire Huddersfield to safety.
Admittedly he would be surrounded by better players if he joined the Baggies, but it doesn’t explain why Bilic seems to have so much confidence in Grant that he’s willing to spend the remainder of West Brom’s transfer budget on him.
If Bilic wants guaranteed Premier League goals, and is working with a limited budget, he could do a lot worse than signing Troy Deeney from Watford.
The Baggies have been linked with a loan move for the 32-year-old already this summer, and bringing him in for a season would massively boost Bilic’s attacking options as well as causing a considerably smaller hit on West Brom’s finances.
Deeney scored 10 goals in 29 Premier League appearances last season, which is a good return in a team that went on to be relegated.
It just seems that there are better, more experienced options out there for Slaven Bilic to try and recruit ahead of Grant.
One major positive of signing Grant is that at 23, he has time to develop and improve his game over the next few years.
But the Baggies don’t have time to waste – Bilic needs guaranteed goals now, not in a few years time.
Spending big money on young players is fine when you are an established Premier League club, but West Brom’s priority this season needs to be staying in the division.
With the transfer window closing shortly, can the Baggies be sure that spending big on Karlan Grant will give them a better chance of survival? Or could we see Bilic and co play it safe and make a ‘Deeney-like’ signing in the last days of this transfer window?
In other West Brom news, ‘Big plans’ – West Brom player with 4 starts in 19/20 wants regular PL role.