West Brom may lose out on Cardiff City cash amid Chris Willock deal: View | OneFootball

Chris Willock's transfer to Cardiff City will frustrate West Bromwich Albion due to Karlan Grant consequence

Cardiff City's impending Chris Willock transfer agreement has received a strong reception across the Championship, but West Bromwich Albion may feel more negative about the deal than others.

The Bluebirds have successfully struck a deal to bring Willock to the Welsh capital on a free transfer after a new contract couldn't be agreed with QPR, where he had spent the previous four campaigns.

Bolstering the wing department was an overarching call of duty for Cardiff heading into this summer's transfer with loan duo Josh Bowler and Karlan Grant heading back to Nottingham Forest and the Baggies respectively following the conclusion of their loan deals.

It's understood that Cardiff had been running the rule over launching a permanent offer for Grant, who has fallen out of favour at The Hawthons and spent the 2023/24 season on loan in Wales.

The forward scored six goals for Cardiff and, generally speaking, was consistently solid enough while failing to necessarily set the world alight either.

However, such a move now appears improbable following Cardiff's advancement - and that's not what Albion's hierarchy and fans will want to hear.

Cardiff City are unlikely to sign West Brom's Karlan Grant following Chris Willock development

Although Grant has spent time throughout his career playing through the middle, Bluebirds boss Erol Bulut elected to deploy him on the left wing for the entirety of last season.

Disciplined in and out of possession and - perhaps to the surprise of West Brom fans, it must be said - a dogged worker up and down the left-hand side, Bulut was a big fan of Grant's, and therefore it would've come as little surprise if he had signed him permanently this summer.

But now that Cardiff are set to sign Willock, the chances of that appear futile.

Carlos Corberan will likely demand a permanent fee for Grant instead of sanctioning a second successive loan deal in order to recoup what they can from the £15 million fee that they forked out to Huddersfield Town in 2020.

With several other targets firmly on the radar ahead of an ambitious window, it's hopeful at best that Cardiff will still be considering coughing up a fee for Grant.

Even though there is a chance that Corberan may look to sell on the cheap to simply cut their losses, Cardiff are looking for different wide profiles regardless as evidenced by signing ex-Albion loanee Willock.

West Brom should still move Karlan Grant on following Cardiff City development

Even though Cardiff can pretty much be ruled out of the running to sign Grant now, the Baggies should still be looking to secure a sale for the out-of-favour forward in the coming weeks.

It simply hasn't worked out for Grant at the club and there's little sign of redemption, either.

Though his time with Cardiff was a marked improvement on a dismal 2022/23 season in the West Midlands, he still didn't rekindle the previous performance levels that supporters of both clubs had expected and he no longer looks capable of being a leading force in a team looking to finish in the play-offs next season - which West Brom and Cardiff both will be, make no mistake about that.

The silver lining with Grant at Huddersfield and West Brom had been that even though his overall game often flattered to deceive and he seldom posed a threat with his dribbling, chance creation or link up play, he still proved a reliable source of goals.

19 league strikes for the Terriers and 18 with the Baggies in 21/22 shows just that, but he's now scored just nine times in the Championship over the last two seasons and isn't compensating elsewhere for his much-diminished goal threat.

Sure, Grant still has his uses for many teams in the Championship and Cardiff supporters were pleasantly surprised to see an impressive work-ethic from a player whose perceived lack of effort was a chief warning from Albion quarters, but that alone just isn't going to save his career with the Baggies.

He's got a long way to come back with supporters, too - perhaps an insumountable gap at this stage - and, all things considered, a sale seems the best solution for all parties.

For that to happen, though, West Brom may have to swallow their pride and let him go on a cut-price deal - and they'll be frustrated that Cardiff are now unlikely to be in the running.