Hull City were destabilised by West Brom transfer decision - it was hardly worth it on Hawthorns evidence | OneFootball

The Baggies will surely regret making a move for Kamil Grosicki from Hull City.

During the January transfer window of 2020, West Brom were in search of reinforcements during their promotion push under Slaven Bilic.

The Baggies were sensational with the Croat at the helm and established themselves at the top end of the second-tier table, before finally sealing promotion after a lengthy pause following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Come the end of the opening month in 2020, West Brom had recruited three players, with Lee Peltier arriving on a permanent deal and Callum Robinson linking up at The Hawthorns for the remainder of the campaign on loan from Sheffield United.

The third arrival was winger Kamil Grosicki from Hull City, a reliable Championship forward option for a reported fee of £800,000.

He had been a trusted figure for the Tigers when occupying a place in the forward line, and with his extensive experience at this level, he was seen as a coup to raise competition levels within the squad.

During his time at the MKM Stadium, the Polish international struggled in the Premier League, but was exceptional in the Championship.

While in the second-tier, he scored nine goals and grabbed six assists in the 2017-18 season, before following that campaign up with nine goals and 12 assists, and even though he played just six months of the 2019/20 season, Grosicki still made his mark with seven goals and four assists.

So from those impressive returns, West Brom were expecting Grosicki to put up some similar numbers, but his stint didn’t go according to plan.

It’s puzzling too, given Albion were a promotion-contending side and dominating possession in most games, so Baggies supporters will definitely be frustrated that this move never worked out.

Kamil Grosicki’s struggles at West Brom

Given his record at Hull City, particularly in the Championship, there was much excitement among the West Brom supporters about the impact Kamil Grosicki could make, particularly picking him up for such a small fee.

It was felt, too, by the hierarchy, as sporting and technical director Luke Dowling, at the time, said: "Kamil is one of the most consistent I've seen. Always a seven-out-of-10 who will give you a nine.”

Grosicki had previously cost the Yorkshire outfit £7m, with many questioning why Hull had let him go so cheaply.

But the Tigers were fully vindicated by the sale as Grosicki failed to live up to the hype in the blue and white stripes.

For the rest of the 2019-20 season, Grosicki played just 14 times for the West Midlands side, during which he scored one goal and recorded three assists.

While it was a disappointing personal return, the Baggies did gain promotion back to the big time, despite limping over the line due to some poor form.

It gave Grosicki a chance to show that he was a player suited more to the style of the top-flight, but his only term in the Championship at The Hawthorns was as good as it got.

As West Brom entered back into England’s elite division, the winger was on the sidelines for the majority of it, even making more appearances in Premier League 2 than the actual Premier League!

Over the course of the 2020-21 campaign, Grosicki appeared just three times, and made only two starts, recording just one assist.

After originally putting pen to paper on an 18-month contract, Grosicki departed the Black Country following Albion’s relegation back down to the Championship, leaving behind a year-and-a-half spell that both player and club will have regretted taking on.

Despite sealing promotion to the Premier League under Slaven Bilic, there will have been disappointment that Kamil Grosicki couldn’t add any extra firepower to West Brom during his time at the club.

While he did score and create some goals after arriving that January, a more regular rate could have seen the club achieve promotion in a far more comfortable fashion than they ended up doing, sealing it in the final game of the season in a nail-biting home draw against Queens Park Rangers.

Ironically, Grosicki's only goal for West Brom in 2019/20 came in a 4-2 win against Hull, who were plummeting down the Championship table. That defeat was one of 16 defeats they suffered from January 11th onwards, as they picked up only six points from that point and finished dead last in the division, dropping into League One after the sales of Grosicki and Jarrod Bowen to West Ham.

Given Grosicki’s lack of impact in the Championship, it was hardly surprising to see him fail to cut the mustard in the Premier League too, and it was particularly emphasised when he didn’t get a look in under either Slaven Bilic or Sam Allardyce, as the club failed in their quest to stay in the division.

On reflection, West Brom will have been pleased that signing him didn’t cost the club an absolute fortune, because if it did, there would have been some fierce criticism launched at the recruitment team.

For £800,000, it was a signing worth taking a punt on given his previous exploits in the division, but there still will have been some frustration that he wasn’t able to produce such numbers while at The Hawthorns.

It goes down as another poor signing by Albion in their recent history, who really should have spotted why Hull were so keen to get Grosicki off their books.