Confirmed: West Bromwich Albion sanction another significant exit
All the latest West Brom news and views from BirminghamLive as Karlan Grant has moved to Championship rivals Cardiff City
Karlan Grant has completed a season-long loan move to Cardiff City, West Brom have confirmed.
The forward, who is halfway through his six-year contract, which was agreed upon his £15m move from Huddersfield Town in 2020, will spend the next year in the Welsh capital.
Grant struggled to adapt to the Premier League in his first campaign at The Hawthorns, having been identified by Slaven Bilic as his desired marksman, but - playing on the left of a front three for Valerien Ismael - his eye for goal at Championship level bore fruit a season later, when he converted 18 times and ended an otherwise disappointing season as the club's clear top scorer.
READ: Grant absent before transfer as West Brom post second pre-season win
READ: Corberan repeats West Brom transfer intention & answers 'worried' question
The 25-year-old struggled again last season, though; he scored just three league goals, all of them by the end of August, and five all in - his cup strikes coming against Sheffield United and Chesterfield - in what was an otherwise injury-hit campaign.
Carlos Corberan was willing to sanction his departure in January, in fact, but Grant's deadline day move to Cardiff's rivals Swansea City fell through.
Grant was permitted a run in the first-team, on the left hand side, in the final weeks of the season after injuries to Grady Diangana, Matt Phillips and Adam Reach, but he failed to make an impression in front of goal as Albion just missed out on a top six place.
He'll now reunite with the likes of Romaine Sawyers and Callum Robinson at the Cardiff City Stadium for the new campaign, and work under new boss Erol Bulut.
Speaking at Cardiff City Stadium after completing his loan move, the striker told the club website: “I’m absolutely delighted. I can’t wait to meet my new teammates and the manager, and get started.
“I spoke with the manager, and he said nothing but good things about the Club. I know how big the stadium is, and I know how good the crowd can be. I’ve got a few friends here as well.
“Callum Robinson and I got on really well when we were at West Brom, and we’re actually still very close. He’s a good friend of mine and we complement each other when we play together, so hopefully we can replicate that.”
It leaves Albion's already skinny forward department looking even thinner; with Daryl Dike injured and likely to miss a significant portion of the new season, Corberan is currently leaning on Brandon Thomas-Asante as his only obvious attacking option.
Grant follows Dara O'Shea, Marc Albrighton, Jake Livermore, Tom Rogic and Kean Bryan in leaving the club since the end of last season.