‘He didn’t need time’ – Bilic drops training reveal after Grant debut v Burnley
West Brom boss Slaven Bilic has explained why Karlan Grant started against Burnley last Monday despite not playing first-team football for three months.
Questions were raised over the fitness of Grant following his summer move from Huddersfield Town as the 23-year-old hadn’t made any league appearances for the Terriers as their Championship season got underway.
Speaking to Birmingham Live, Bilic said that the fact he has played in England meant he ‘didn’t need time’ to settle in on the training ground before his debut against Burnley.
Bilic said: “Karlan didn’t have time to settle in but he didn’t need time because he is a guy from England, he knows a lot of the players, he played in youth academies with some of them, he played in the same league – whether League One or the Championship.
“He didn’t need to introduce himself. That is the reason why it was possible for us to start him against Burnley after only three sessions with us”.
Unfortunately, Grant couldn’t mark his Baggies debut with a goal as his new side were held to a 0-0 draw by Sean Dyche’s Burnley.
It was first thought that Grant would be Bilic’s only forward option against the Clarets’ as Albion experienced a mini striker crisis before the game.
Callum Robinson was forced into self-isolation coming into contact with someone who had tested positive for COVID-19 while he was away on international duty and as a result, it was unclear if he was going to be allowed to play against Burnley.
Prior to this, Hal Robson-Kanu suffered a broken arm in the Baggies’ previous game against Southampton, which has ruled him out for several weeks.
Eventually, Robinson was allowed to play but Grant was still selected over the Baggies man who has scored two league goals this season.
Grant could again lead the line for Albion in their next game against Brighton, as the Baggies go searching for their first league win of the season at the Amex.
In other West Brom news, ‘Starting to dominate’ – Mark Lawrenson predicts West Brom clash v Brighton.
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