Karlan Grant central to Steve Bruce’s plans at West Brom

The 24-year-old is due to face former club Huddersfield tomorrow fresh from netting a brace in Albion’s 2-0 win at Hull last weekend.

Grant has spent the vast majority of his career playing on the left flank.

But when former boss Slaven Bilic brought him to The Hawthorns in October 2020, his intention was to play him as a centre-forward.

With Albion struggling in the Premier League, Grant soon found himself in and out of the team.

And he was then moved back out to the left during Valerien Ismael’s time as boss.

Last weekend at Hull, though, Bruce opted to play him in a front two alongside Callum Robinson.

And Grant responded by netting both goals as Albion put an end to a dismal run that had seen them fail to win in seven.

For Bruce, though, his performance came as no surprise – with the 61-year-old revealing he came close to signing Grant while he was in charge of Newcastle.

“I saw him play at Charlton as a kid before he got his move to Huddersfield and I always felt then he was a striker,” Bruce said.

“Then when he was at Huddersfield, I sent my coaches Steve Clemence and Steve Agnew to go and watch him when we were at Newcastle.

“They came back with a glowing report. They felt he was a centre-forward. And when you look at his statistics – he’s got one in three in the Championship.

“We needed to do something different at Hull.

“And I always enjoy playing two up top – whether that is a number 10 and a number nine.

“Thankfully, it worked and I felt the two of them were a threat.

“Karlan is a threat because he wants to run in behind, which is important these days.”

Bruce opted for a 3-5-2 formation at Hull last weekend – with that tactical switch helping the Baggies put in arguably their best performance in months.

And the boss revealed he opted to partner Grant with Robinson because of the number of times they have linked up this season.

“If you look at the two of them, Karlan has set up goals for Callum, and Callum for Karlan,” the boss continued.

“There is a natural understanding there.

“The assists and the goals they have got between each other has been a big part of this season.

“That’s why I paired the two of them together.”

Albion’s performance last weekend means Bruce is unlikely to make changes for tomorrow’s game.

The Baggies will likely continue with three at the back and with youngster Taylor Garnder-Hickman in midfield.

Alongside him, though, Alex Mowatt is a doubt after picking up a minor muscle problem

“Mowatt, he’s got a little niggle,” Bruce added.

“We hope and expect that he’ll be okay, but he’s a slight doubt.”