A lot of talk this summer was on Daryl Dike and how he’d fare as West Bromwich Albion’s main striker, but Karlan Grant has outperformed the 22-year-old in pre-season to show Steve Bruce who should lead the line this coming campaign.

The 24-year-old scored 18 goals with six assists from 44 Championship games last season (2021/22) but didn’t get the credit he deserved because West Brom struggled. Its easy to forget that Grant netted just one goal in 21 Premier League outings the previous campaign (2020/21).

Grant has certainly put that poor top-flight campaign behind him and has picked up from where he left off just months ago with three goals from six appearances in pre-season.

The 24-year-old came off the bench in West Brom’s 2-1 win over Leyton Orient on July 4 but didn’t get on the scoresheet. Grant played for 66 minutes in their 2-0 defeat to Stevenage on July 9 but didn’t get on the scoresheet. He played 77 minutes in Albion’s 3-0 win over Northampton Town on July 13 and scored.

Grant played 27 minutes in West Brom’s 1-1 draw with Crewe Alexandra on July 16 but didn’t get on the scoresheet, but he played a full 90 minutes in their 3-0 win over Oxford United on July 19 and bagged two goals. The 24-year-old played 68 minutes in Albion’s 2-1 win over Hertha Berlin on July 23 but didn’t get on the scoresheet.

Grant scored three goals to Dike’s two, so he’s still the most prolific player West Brom have at their disposal. Bruce has played the pair together on occasion but usually substitutes one for the other in each friendly, so Grant has done everything in his power to get the nod when the new season starts.

In other news, John Swift impresses for West Brom in pre-season