‘Massive step up’ – Grant sets his West Brom goal target for 20/21 PL campaign
West Brom striker Karlan Grant has outlined his desire to reach double figures in the Premier League this season, despite scoring only one goal so far.
Grant’s troubles in front of goal have mirrored West Brom’s season as a whole – difficult, low-scoring and doomed for failure.
He has scored one goal for the Baggies, an equaliser in the 1-1 draw at Brighton on October 26. Since then, he has endured a 10 match barren run, in which the team have had as many managerial changes as victories (one).
As reported by Joseph Masi in the Express & Star, Grant is still optimistic that the goals will eventually flow, saying, “Results haven’t gone the way we’d have liked them to but there’s a good bunch of lads here and I feel they they will come.
“It’s a massive step-up being in the Premier League. You might not get many chances in a game and teams will punish you if you are not at it.
“But I’d still like to get into double figures this season, you just have to take each game as it comes.
“Being critical of myself, I feel I could have put a few more chances away this year. That is something I can work at.”
Ominous figures that have set Grant up to fail
While Grant might feel he should have more goals to his tally, and that they will eventually fall his way, the statistics don’t paint a particularly optimistic story ahead.
Per WyScout, West Brom are bottom of expected goals this season, with 13.58, scoring 11 Premier League goals.
Additionally, only Sheffield United (7.46) have less shots per 90 than West Brom (7.5), while they are also third bottom for passes to the final third of the pitch (42.04 per 90).
Indeed, Grant’s xG for this season is only 2.1 (via fbref), so while he is performing below this figure, it does not reveal a tale of near misses and bad luck that will eventually even itself out over the course of the season.
Instead, it shows that West Brom are desperately short of creativity and are not producing clear-cut chances for the likes of Grant to capitalise on.
With this in mind, Grant’s hopes of double figures for goals this season looks wildly positive.
He should not be knocked for trying to inspire confidence in the team, nor his belief in his abilities, but the reality of the situation is stark for West Brom, and fans will not be fooled into thinking this is a realistic proposition.
In other West Brom news, Everton striker linked with move to the Hawthorns.
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