Hidden Truth About West Brown “Highest Paid Star” Revealed And He Must Face Exit, This Is What…

Exclusive: West Brom star who is on a “big salary” tipped for potential Hawthorns exit

Former West Brom midfielder and current pundit Carlton Palmer believes that Baggies forward Karlan Grant could be on his way out of the club this summer following his tough start to life under recently-appointed boss Tony Mowbray.

Grant is nearing the end of his fifth season as an Albion player since a 2020 move from Huddersfield Town for a reported £15 million fee, and he enjoyed a new lease of life under Carlos Corberan in the first-half of this campaign after a loan spell at Cardiff City last term.

Corberan departed the Hawthorns in December, however, and while the re-appointment of legendary manager Mowbray was met with excitement by most at the club, Grant has struggled to keep up his stellar form over the last few months, and now finds himself out of the starting eleven.

Carlton Palmer makes Karlan Grant transfer prediction amid Tony Mowbray struggles

Grant took some time to rediscover his scoring touch after returning to the Baggies for this season, but still retained a starting berth under Corberan in the early stages of the campaign ahead of the likes of Mikey Johnston and Lewis Dobbin.

He managed to find the net five times in 21 games before the Spaniard’s departure, with two assists and 19 starts in that period to become a real key player once again in B71. Mowbray’s reign has been a lot less fruitful for the 27-year-old, however, and Grant is yet to contribute to a goal in the nine games and only three starts since he returned to the club after sixteen years away.

New January additions in attack have seen him fall down the pecking order once again, and the pair held talks last month as Mowbray set Grant a challenge to work harder and win his place in the first eleven back. He is yet to do so though, and it looks unlikely to happen this season if the Baggies keep up their current play-off challenge.

Ex-England international Palmer is unsure if Grant fits into Mowbray’s long-term plans, and with just 12 months left on his Albion contract in the summer, he thinks the club may have already prepared for his exit ahead of next season.

“I’m a big admirer of Tony Mowbray – he knows the way he wants to play. Under Carlos Corberan, Karlan Grant was having a really, really decent season,” Palmer told FLW.

“He’s come back from his loan spell at Cardiff, played 32 Championship games for the Albion this season, and scored six goals.

“Obviously, Tony has got his way that he wants to play. Grant’s not happy, they’ve had a talk, and the manager has challenged him to show him what he can do.

“He hadn’t seen what he was doing before he went to the club, so he has challenged him to play his best football. He was playing well for West Brom before that.

I think this may also be to do with his contract situation, as it expires in the summer of 2026.

“The fact that the manager has brought in players and seems to know what he wants from his players…maybe Karlan doesn’t fit into his plans.

“His salary as well. He’s on a big salary, so they may be looking to move him on anyhow. If that is decided behind the scenes, then I can see why Tony Mowbray is not playing him.

“Obviously if you have got a player on your books, and he can do something for the team at this moment in time, then you play him.

“It’s probably just the system, the way he wants to play, and what he has seen in training. As I say, before Mowbray took over, he was having a very good season.”

Grant nearly left the Baggies in the January window – a summer exit seems likely

Big things were expected of Grant upon his arrival in the West Midlands in 2020, given the sizeable fee paid to Huddersfield, but prior to this season, his only decent run of form for the club was in 2021/22 as he registered 18 goals and six assists and was a clear standout throughout the campaign.

The summer of 2023 saw the versatile attacker join Cardiff on loan, and he was a consistent part of Erol Bulut’s side across the season, but never truly hit his previous heights and returned to the Baggies ahead of this term, seemingly at another crossroads in his career.

Corberan heaped praise on the 27-year-old in December following his strong run of form in the first-half of the campaign, but his departure later that month could not have come at a worse time for Grant.

Mowbray was soon appointed, which he would likely have initially seen as a positive, but maybe not just weeks later, after the likes of Adam Armstrong, Tammer Bany and Will Lankshear arrived at the Hawthorns in the winter window.

Grant then seemingly came close to a loan move away late on in the window at the start of last month, after Burnley were reported to have explored the possibility of a permanent deal, but were rebuffed, and Derby County were also claimed to have approached the club over a loan move, but nothing materialised.

He has since struggled to win back his place in the team, and has not even featured in the matchday squad in two of the Baggies’ last four games due to illness and injury respectively. A summer exit looks very possible if the rest of the season continues in a similar vein.