Hal Robson-Kanu explains why he left West Brom | OneFootball

West Bromwich Albion endured a very frustrating 2021/22 season in the Championship, falling away from the promotion picture in the second half of the campaign to a tenth placed finish.

Valerien Ismael’s bold ideas seemed to be doing the trick in the opening few months of the campaign, but their momentum slowed down and it became evident quickly that they were no longer able to compete towards the top end.

Steve Bruce experienced an up and down final few months of the season and will be hoping to strengthen the squad in the summer.

Hal Robson-Kanu has been a free agent since his release from the Baggies in the summer of 2021.

There were conversations around a new deal for the Welshman at the time but they were not in line with his plans for the future.

The 33-year-old revealed why he left West Brom when he spoke to The Athletic.

He said: “It was almost like, ‘What direction are we going?’.

“‘We’re going in this direction’, and I said, ‘I’m going in this direction’.

“Looking at the season, it shows that’s where they were indicating they would be and what the plan was for the club.

“It was like; no, coming down from the Premier League, you want to be going straight back up.

“Why not? Look at Fulham.

“So that was that.

“The biggest thing I was looking at was a project.”

2021/22 did not go to plan for West Brom, but given his performances over the last few seasons, it is unlikely that Robson-Kanu’s attacking play would have changed that.

The Verdict

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The 46-time Wales international has not yet called time on his playing career and he probably should be considered as a target for a League One club this summer.

Robson-Kanu’s physicality, and the way he uses it, has improved with age and that could be something that still makes him an effective forward in the EFL.

With Karlan Grant, Grady Diangana, John Swift, Callum Robinson and Daryl Dike, the Baggies are very well-stacked in attacking areas to make a better go of promotion in 2022/23, but a markable improvement will be needed from the way they performed under Bruce towards the back end of the season.