West Brom: Carlos Corberan working Mowatt, Kipre magic again - View | OneFootball

West Brom head coach Carlos Corberan has brought Karlan Grant back into the fold this season after his loan spell at Cardiff City.

It has been an excellent start to the season for West Bromwich Albion in the Championship.

The Baggies suffered heartbreak as they were beaten by Southampton in the play-off semi-finals last season, but they look set to mount another promotion push this campaign.

Despite operating under an EFL-imposed business plan as they look to avoid a breach of PSR rules, Albion brought in 11 new players this summer, while there were also a number of high-profile departures, including Cedric Kipre, Erik Pieters, Conor Townsend, Okay Yokuslu, Yann M'Vila, Nathaniel Chalobah, Matt Phillips, Adam Reach and Brandon Thomas-Asante.

On the pitch, the Baggies have enjoyed an outstanding start to the season, and they currently sit second in the table after picking up 10 points from their opening four games.

While a number of Corberan's new signings have made a positive impression in the early weeks of the campaign, one of the standout players for Albion so far has been forward Karlan Grant, which would have been unthinkable at points last season.

Karlan Grant's impressive West Brom turnaround

Grant joined Albion from Huddersfield Town for a fee of £15 million in October 2020, and while he suffered relegation from the Premier League in his first season at The Hawthorns, it did not take long for him to prove his worth in the Championship.

The 26-year-old finished as the Baggies' top scorer in the 2021-22 campaign as he scored 18 goals and provided seven assists in 45 appearances, but his side missed out on the play-off places.

Grant remained a regular at the start of the following season, but he fell out of favour shortly after Corberan replaced Steve Bruce in October 2022, with many of his minutes coming as a substitute under the Spaniard.

It was no surprise when Corberan decided to send Grant out on loan last summer, and although he enjoyed a decent spell at Cardiff City, scoring six goals and registering three assists in 40 games, it did not look like it would be enough for him to force his way back into Corberan's plans.

However, Grant has started all four league games for Albion this season, getting on the scoresheet on one occasion, and his performances have earned praise from Corberan.

"I must work with the players I have and to get the best from him. Grant is a very good player, I know that. He went on loan, played minutes, came back with a desire to give his best to the club," the manager told the Express & Star.

"After, we’ll assess the full situation – but what I will say is that Grant has come back, is working very hard to help the club. He’s motivated. He’s in the squad. From day one, he wanted to stay here and work hard."

"From the first day working here, I cannot complain ever about Grant’s attitude," Corberan continued.

"It is true we decided to loan him last year for different reasons, now he is here with us and I have said he is a player showing desire to be part of the squad."

Grant's days at The Hawthorns seemed to be numbered but Corberan should be commended for bringing him back into the fold this season and finding a way to get the best out of him.

It is not the first time that the highly-rated coach has helped a player get their career back on track, having done so previously with the likes of Alex Mowatt and Cedric Kipre, with the pair becoming key players for Albion after looking certain to move on.

Midfielder Mowatt spent the 2022-23 season on loan at Middlesbrough, meaning Corberan was unable to work with him in his first year as Baggies boss, but after returning from the Riverside Stadium, he scored two goals and provided five assists in 48 games last season.

Mowatt signed a new two-year contract at the club in July, and he remains a crucial part of the Albion team, starting all four league games so far this season.

Defender Kipre was loaned out to Cardiff City in the summer of 2022, but like Mowatt, he was another player to be handed an opportunity under Corberan, and he scored three goals and registered one assist in 48 appearances last season.

Kipre was voted as the Baggies' Player of the Season by both his fellow players and supporters, underlining just how impressive his performances were last term, but despite being offered a new deal by the Baggies this summer, he decided to make the move to French side Reims.

While Corberan did not make the decision to send Mowatt and Kipre out on loan, he did sanction Grant's departure last summer, which arguably makes his turnaround even more impressive.

Grant could soon find himself out of the team after Albion completed the permanent signing of Celtic winger Mikey Johnston, who scored seven goals and provided two assists in 20 games during his loan spell at The Hawthorns last season, but there is no doubt that he could have a big role to play this season.