Exclusive: Phillips tips West Brom to extend HRK contract
We’re delighted to welcome former West Brom striker Kevin Phillips as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns…
Hal Robson-Kanu could be offered the chance to extend his stay at West Brom by an extra year, according to Kevin Phillips.
Robson-Kanu, 31, will be out of contract at the end of this season but has regularly featured for the Baggies in the last few years.
While he hasn’t started a Premier League game this season and suffered a fractured arm back in October, he’s still made 12 top-flight appearances and playing a part whenever he’s been available.
The ex-Reading forward performed well in the Championship last season and with relegation back to the second-tier staring Albion in the face, Phillips suggests the Welshman could be someone who’s offered an extra year so they don’t have to bring a new replacement in for him.
“He’s a good player but is he prolific enough to bring you straight back out of the Championship? History probably suggests that he isn’t,” Phillips told West Brom News.
“I like Robson-Kanu. I think he’s a handful.
“It might be one of those where he’s there, he knows the club, offer him a year, if he takes it then brilliant, you’ve got a player there we know can perform in the Championship. He might not get you 20-plus goals but he will certainly cause chaos and create opportunities for other players in terms of moving defences around.
“It will be a cheaper option than going out and buying someone and hoping they hit the ground running.
“When they sit down and think about next season once it’s mathematically impossible to stay up, it wouldn’t surprise me if they say it’s worth keeping him for another year because we know what we’re going to get.”
Robson-Kanu has made 147 appearances in all competitions for West Brom and scored just 22 goals.
He scored 10 of those goals in the Championship last term as he helped the Baggies win promotion. While his goalscoring record wasn’t amazing, he was still second-best in Slaven Bilic’s squad and his link-up play with the likes of Matheus Pereira and Grady Diangana was vital.
However, that was more than likely a one-off for someone who’s fallen way short of requirements in his time at The Hawthorns.
It’s been clear for a long time though that HRK is someone who the Baggies can improve upon and with him approaching his 32nd birthday and the end of his contract, it would be best to part company with him.
Robson-Kanu’s been a good servant and his worth ethic has never been questioned but there are major doubts about his quality.
If we want to return to the Premier League, we need better players than him spearheading the attack.
In other West Brom news, Lee Dixon slammed this one “terrible” player in the 0-0 draw with Newcastle.
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