Everything is very much rosey at the Hawthorns at this moment in time, as Carlos Corberan‘s West Bromwich Albion show no signs of letting up their top form.
After last weekend’s emphatic 3-0 victory away at Portsmouth, West Brom find themselves rightfully at the top of the Championship pile and they will aim to stay there, with four wins and a draw registered from five league clashes to date.
In order to keep up their stellar form, Corberan might well have to be cutthroat with his ongoing team selections, however, with rejuvenated Baggies winger Karlan Grant now in danger of dropping out today versus Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth Argyle.
Grant’s performance vs Pompey
The ex-Huddersfield Town attacker would have been anticipating that his off-season, before the 2024/25 campaign got underway, would be spent predominantly searching for a new club to call home, after being shipped out on loan to Cardiff City.
Instead, Corberan has drip fed Grant more and more first-team minutes on his return from Wales, with the 27-year-old attacker justifying his manager’s decision to do so in patches.
The Baggies number 18 even has a goal next to his name from the five league games he has managed this campaign, having scored away at Stoke City to close out a productive August, but could find his starting spot is up in the air now for the visit of the Pilgrims.
The 27-year-old struggled to really get going in the big 3-0 win at Fratton Park last time out, with fewer touches managed from Grant on the South Coast than Baggies goalkeeper Alex Palmer, as the former Cardiff loanee registered 36 next to Palmer’s 53.
Moreover, Grant only managed to accumulate 11 accurate passes in the contest, on top of only registering one on-target effort at Will Norris’ goal, as the likes of John Swift, Tom Fellows and Alex Mowatt shone in midfield whilst the underwhelming left winger took on a background role.
This could result in Corberan wanting to see who else could suit this left-wing spot over the 27-year-old, with a number of options at the Spaniard’s disposal.
The players who could replace Grant
Mikey Johnston will be the first name on Corberan’s mind that could replace Grant today, having substituted on the former Celtic man in his place away at Pompey late on.
Johnston was a statement signing from the Baggies right at the death of the transfer window, reuniting the Republic of Ireland international with his former employers on a permanent basis, after an electric 2023/24 campaign from the 25-year-old donning a West Brom strip.
Johnston’s league numbers for West Brom (23/24) vs Grant’s at Cardiff (23/24) | ||
|---|---|---|
Stat | ||
Games played | 18 | 39 |
Goals scored | 7 | 6 |
Assists | 1 | 2 |
Stats by Sofascore | ||
As can be seen looking at the table above, both Johnston and Grant would put in the same numbers for their respective sides last season in the second tier, but Johnston would manage his stellar output from 21 fewer games than his Bluebirds counterpart.
Therefore, after giving the ex-Bhoys man a cameo at Fratton Park in Grant’s place, the time could be right for Corberan to reintroduce the 25-year-old into the main lineup, in the hope he can explode back into life in the West Midlands.
One of Johnston’s seven strikes during his spectacular loan stint last season actually came against Plymouth, as the Baggies ran rampant in a 3-0 away win back in February, and so he could feel confident in his ability to cut open the Pilgrims at will today if selected.
Corberan might also see Grady Diangana as an option to replace Grant, as the Spaniard aims to tweak here and there when needed, without disrupting the harmony present in the first team currently.
The revitalised Grant could just have to settle for a place on the substitutes bench today, therefore, as West Brom aim to make it four league wins on the trot to boost their standing at the top of the division.
