West Bromwich Albion will be thanking their lucky stars that they gambled on signing Celtic loanee Mikey Johnston in the January transfer window, with the slick Hoops winger becoming an instant fans' favourite at his new loan club.
He wasn't quite at his spell-binding best against Sunderland last match, with West Brom falling to a disappointing 1-0 loss in the Championship to Mike Dodds' topsy-turvy Black Cats, but he will still be one of the first names on Carlos Corberan's team-sheet until he moves back to Scotland.
West Brom are already looking for replacements to fill the eventual void left behind by the 24-year-old when he links back up with Brendan Rodgers' side at the end of the campaign, seen in their reported interest of Oxford United winger Josh Murphy.
Yet, this situation with Johnston could offer up a final last chance saloon for this forgotten Baggies man who has starred in spurts out on loan at Cardiff City from down the left wing.
One last chance for forgotten West Brom man
Karlan Grant could well want to come back off his loan spell with the Bluebirds and fight for his spot in Corberan's XI, having shown his quality occasionally in the Welsh capital.
The 26-year-old has helped himself to six goals and three assists from 40 games in all competitions, fading in and out of games under Erol Bulut but impressing all the same in some key moments.
Often deployed as a striker in the West Midlands, Grant switching to playing down the wings for Cardiff predominantly – and mainly the left wing – has seen his game improve in Wales and could give him a final chance to shine back at his parent club subsequently.
Grant's performance against Hull City at the start of this month would have been encouraging viewing for Corberan, the 26-year-old bagging Cardiff's only goal of the contest in a 3-1 defeat but he looked lively and energetic down the channels.
It could be a risk trying to bed Grant back in after it was made abundantly clear to him that his Spanish Baggies manager didn't really want him, but with the news that Johnston might not stick around in the West Midlands past his impactful loan stint, all options should be assessed.
Karlan Grant's West Brom future
Grant was once a well-liked figure at the Hawthorns, tearing Championship defences to pieces with blistering attacking displays.
The 2021/22 season for Grant in a West Brom strip was the former Huddersfield Town man at his vibrant best and also his goalscoring best for the Baggies, firing in 18 strikes from 44 second-tier games before his time in the West Midlands started to go sour.
Position
Games played
Goals
Assists
ST
44
13
4
LW
34
10
4
RW
2
0
0
RM
1
0
0
SS
1
0
0
As can be seen above, Grant has excelled down the left-hand side at West Brom in the past, with the Baggies more than content with sticking by Brandon Thomas-Asante in the centre-forward spot.
Still, with former Baggies player Carlton Palmer praising Grant as a "versatile" player when discussing his original loan switch to Cardiff, there might be a way back for the 26-year-old if West Brom need an additional body up top as well as down the channels.
There will no doubt be a number of crunch talks with Grant this summer over his immediate West Brom future, with one outcome being he is given another shot at redemption in the absence of Johnston.
West Brom could ease Johnston exit with "fantastic" free transfer
West Bromwich Albion will hope this potential incoming is as effective as Mikey Johnston next season.
ByKelan SarsonApr 17, 2024