Carlos Corberan eyes new role for West Brom ‘specialist’ Karlan Grant
Carlos Corberan has opened up on the role Karlan Grant can play in his West Brom team after impressing against Chesterfield in the third round of the FA Cup.
Since the Spaniards’ arrival at the Hawthorns, Grant has fallen beneath centre-forwards Daryl Dike and Brandon Thomas-Asante in the pecking order and subsequently struggled for minutes.
The £15 million signing was given a chance to impress from the off in the FA Cup on Saturday (7 January), and he duly delivered – chalking up a goal and an assist in the 3-3 draw against the National League outfit.
The Baggies boss outlined his pleasure at the 25-year-old’s starring role from a wide attacking position, as reported by Express and Star.
He said: “Grant hasn’t played wide left for a long time. I don’t think he’s a one-v-one winger, but at the same time, he did that for the first goal and made an assist on a cross with his left foot.
“He’s a player who can adapt to the needs of the team, the needs of the game, or the needs of the structure or positional advantage that you want to create.
“We know he’s a player who can score goals around the box – he’s a specialist. It is positive that he has 90 minutes in his legs and will be more ready to compete in the next one.”
Unfortunate
Competition for places in West Brom’s squad is tough right now, and Grant is, unfortunately, paying the price for this fact.
Corberan has clearly highlighted he sees Grant as a left winger and not as a centre-forward, where he played under Steve Bruce, but this could be his best route into the starting XI.
The attacker would be highly unlikely to supplant Dike of Thomas-Asante in the side following their roles in the Baggies’ recent revival in the league, so must sharpen up his skills out wide.
Grant is a player who simply makes things happen. He is a natural goalscorer, and within 20 minutes of the outing to Chesterfield, he had already notched up two telling contributions.
After his big-money move from Huddersfield Town in 2020, the striker has been the scapegoat for many fans’ frustrations, but he netted 18 goals last season and is a brilliant option for Corberan to tinker with.
In other West Brom news, this loanee has rejected a chance to stay for the rest of the season in order to return to The Hawthorns instead.