West Brom v Burnley: Recruits are ready to step up and play a part in survival fight

We may be four games into the Premier League season.

But the closure of the transfer window – along with the international break which proceeded it – was always going to have a massive impact on Albion’s squad.

First and foremost, they needed to bring in a striker – a striker that is expected to lead the line this season.

They have done that with Karlan Grant.

But they also needed to work on the fitness of three other new recruits.

Branislav Ivanovic, Conor Gallagher and Filip Krovinovic have all struggled for minutes in pre-season for a variety of different reasons.

Ivanovic was a free agent and without a club having departed Zenit St Petersburg.

Gallagher was always going to find it hard forcing his way into Frank Lampard’s plans at parent club Chelsea, while Filip Krovinovic was made to train on his own at Benfica as the club negotiated a second loan with Albion.

But head coach Slaven Bilic now feels those three players are ready to play thanks to the work they have done during the international break.

And with the addition of Grant as well, that effectively gives the Baggies a brand new spine.

“I can now treat them as a part of the squad, without any of the question marks,” Bilic said when asked about Ivanovic, Gallagher and Krovinovic. “They are now treated liked everybody else.”

For Grant, though, the situation is a little bit different with the striker having only joined Albion on Thursday.

Nevertheless, Bilic may feel he has to throw the 23-year-old into his side due to a lack of alternatives.

At the time of writing it is unknown whether Callum Robinson will be available for the game with the striker in quarantine after he came into contact with someone who had Covid-19 on international duty.

Hal Robson-Kanu is going to be out for at around four weeks after breaking his arm at Southampton, while Charlie Austin has been out of favour all season.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Bilic revealed Grant had been training on his own at Huddersfield.

But the fact the game has been moved from Saturday to today has given the 23-year-old more of a chance of being involved.

“He (Grant) has not played a lot of football,” Bilic continued. “He trained, but he didn’t train with a group so it’s one of those where we have to find a balance as soon as possible.

“At the moment we have trouble in the striker position – but we can’t risk his long-term performance.

“You get an indication from the numbers, from the sports science guys.

“But the most important thing is how does he feel.

“He has trained us. He looked good, he looked sharp. But we are going to see.

“The good thing is that by playing on Monday we have had a couple of extra days to see him and work with him.”

Burnley enter the game without a point having lost all three of their matches so far.

But they finished 10th in the Premier League last season with manager Sean Dyche having firmly established them as a top-flight side.

And while they haven’t had the start they would have wanted, Bilic expects them to head to The Hawthorns with confidence.

“They have zero points but they have a knowhow,” Bilic added. “They are not panicking with the situation.

“They have a great manager who never gives up. He is a proper man.

“They may not have the points, but they will arrive as a confident team who know what they have to do.

“They haven’t signed any players and I feel sorry for Sean after all the great work he has done over the years.

“But it is different for them – they are not newcomers like we are. Last season they finished 10th.

“The Premier League is their home. We want the Premier League to be our home for a long time as well.

“We have a few question marks, but we are more ready now then we were at the start of the season.”