"To be quite honest" - Exclusive: Sky pundit drops claim on Karlan Grant's West Brom future | OneFootball

The attacker has struggled to get back to his best in recent seasons, but the potential for something special is there within him.

Karlan Grant's Championship experience could come in very handy for new West Bromwich Albion boss Ryan Mason, in what is his first full-time position as a head coach.

At 27, the winger has pretty much five straight seasons of consistently decent, or sometimes, brilliant output under his belt. His early days with both the Baggies and with former club Huddersfield Town, who West Brom paid £15 million to buy him in October 2020, after they won promotion to the Premier League.

Across the 2019/20 and 2021/22 terms, Grant notched 37 goals in 77 appearances. Things have tapered off since then, but he's still been a player that could chip in with attacking contributions for Albion in their many iterations since then.

West Brom told to maximise Karlan Grant's potential

He started 34 games for the club last time out, but the arrival of a new boss always puts players at risk of losing their regular spot in the first XI, or, on the flip side, can give those who were out of favour a chance to prove their worth.

In Grant's case, Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie believes West Brom should only look to make best use of his abilities, and certainly not consider moving the 27-year-old on. Grant has just less than a year left on his Albion deal.

"Karlan Grant, I've always thought that, with him, he's very sort of versatile in that front line. Now it's whether Ryan Mason sees the future in him and uses him, and he buys into what Ryan's doing," Hendrie exclusively told Football League World.

"Should they consider selling him in the summer? I think if they were going to sell him, I think that might have happened.

"I do feel that he's someone that can add to something that West Brom needs to be quite honest. He does offer an attacking threat, and can play in a number of positions in that forward area.

"You do feel that keeping players like him that can potentially give him something higher up the pitch, I'd be looking to keep hold. I don't think they've been able to spend money and bring players in.

"Whether that is looked at for Karlan Grant and Ryan Mason to say this is an opportunity to prove [himself], and maybe the potential that if it doesn't work, he goes in January, but I think they'd be looking to keep him."

West Brom shouldn't consider selling Karlan Grant this summer

The only real motivation behind the Baggies looking to move Grant on, if they decided to, would be his contract, and not wanting him to leave for nothing in a year's time.

He has started both of the club's pre-season games this summer, which suggests that the former Tottenham Hotspur coach sees the attacker being part of his plans.

With the threat that he can pose going forward, although not as consistently as he used to, it'd feel strange to try and get rid of him when scoring goals has been a problem for West Brom for a while now.