Things have not gone to plan for Karlan Grant since his move to West Bromwich Albion in the summer.
The 23-year-old striker was purchased from Huddersfield Town for £12m and he subsequently signed a whopping six-year deal to tie him down at The Hawthorns until 2026.
It was no secret that the Baggies were in desperate need of additional firepower as they stumbled their way to promotion and Grant fit the bill as a young and hungry option with bags of potential.
In a struggling Terriers side, he bagged 19 goals in 44 appearances, which had him down as the Championship’s fourth-most prolific scorer for the 2019/20 campaign.
He was just over a handful of goals behind former Brentford, and now Aston Villa’s £33m man, Ollie Watkins (26) and easily outscored Albion’s top-scorers, Charlie Austin (ten) and Hal Robson-Kanu (ten).
“For promoted teams, chances are usually at a premium, so they need somebody who is ruthless in front of goal. Karlan is definitely that,” explained his former boss Danny Cowley to The Athletic. “He scored a lot of goals in a team that was struggling and without his goals, we wouldn’t have stayed in the division.”
That review wasn’t too dissimilar to that of Lee Bowyer when the pair were at The Valley, he lauded: “The kid causes problems and scores goals.”
It looks an obvious upgrade, in all honesty.
However, despite previously having decent form in the big time, Grant has looked wholly out of his depth and that’s been noticed by both of West Brom’s managers this season.
Grant has been limited to just 1,095 minutes – or 14 starts – in which he’s found the net just once. That’s one goal for £12m. One goal in over a thousand minutes of game time.
Under Bilic, the former Charlton star completed the full 90 minutes just once and now under Sam Allardyce, he’s effectively a forgotten man, playing just seven minutes from the bench in their last eight outings.
January loan arrival Mbaye Diagne has usurped him in the pecking order, and if Big Sam remains at the helm, you have to wonder if there’s any way back for him next season.
Given the finances spent, Grant is bordering on being another attacking flop to grace the West Midlands. Some similarities could be drawn to that of Oliver Burke, who cost then-Baggies boss Tony Pulis a club-record £15m in 2017.
The Scotsman, who is now at relegated Sheffield United, scored once and delivered three assists in 24 appearances across three seasons. He did more for the U23s than the senior side.
Currently, Grant is on track to be worse than that after just one season at the club. He’s now valued at just over £8m by Transfermarkt – another worrying sign considering his age and the length of his £30k-per-week contract.
Unless anything vastly changes between now and the start of the 2021/22 season, the 23-year-old dynamo could well be Albion’s next mega-money disaster.
AND in other news, West Brom dealt fresh injury blow ahead of Leicester clash…