West Bromwich Albion boss Slaven Bilic has claimed that the signing of Sheffield United forward Callum Robinson was ‘massive’ in an interview with the Express & Star.
Robinson arrived at West Brom in January on loan for the rest of the season from the Blades and has fitted into life at the Hawthorns seamlessly.
The 25-year-old has already shown his pace, trickery and direct style in abundance in his three appearances so far and Bilic has been impressed by his immediate impact.
“I don’t know how many shots he had at Reading, what was it five? Six? That’s a lot. That’s why we wanted him in the summer also. He’s a direct player, he’s a winger, but he’s a winger that is always in the box, that’s what you want.”
“When you have players like Krovinovic and Pereira who can release him, he’s very good at combining. He’s a big asset for us. He knows the league, he knows the players,” added Bilic.
“He played in this league last season. That’s why we wanted to get in January him, Kamil Grosicki and Lee Peltier, because in January you don’t have a pre-season.”
“You have three days, or one week, and then a game. You want the players ready, so three of them when they came into training, they didn’t say ‘Hello my name is Callum, what’s your name?’ – they know each other.”
There is no doubt that West Brom pulled off a real coup with the signing of Robinson with the Championship and Premier League experience that he brings to the side.
With the rest of the season being hugely important for Bilic’s side, they will need all of their existing squad as well as their new recruits to continue their good form as they strive for promotion.
