Kieran Gibbs joined West Bromwich Albion in the final days of the summer transfer window.
Tony Pulis has conceded that West Brom need to be extra careful when monitoring the fitness of summer signing Kieran Gibbs, and suggested that fellow new arrivals Grzegorz Krychowiak and Oliver Burke are stronger physically than the former Arsenal man, the Express and Star reports.
Gibbs arrived at The Hawthorns during the final days of the transfer window, having spent the last 13 years on Arsenal’s books coming through the ranks with the Gunners.
Over the last decade since he made his professional debut however, the 27-year-old made just 137 Premier League appearances with fitness issues contributing to the fact that he has not played a greater number of games.
And Pulis admitted that there is a question mark over the full-back as far as he is concerned, even after bringing him to the club during the most recent window.
“You look at him and he’s a racehorse – he’s quick. He’s different to Grzegorz (Krychowiak), who’s a lot stronger physically and ‘Burkey’ (Oliver Burke), who are a lot stronger physically.
“So we’re going to have to be careful with Gibbo in that respect to make sure he knows that there are certain things you have to do to maintain your fitness at this level.
“At the moment that’s the big issue. With Gibbs, he needs training and a lot more core and strength work to maintain his fitness.”
Gibbs is certainly a talented defender, and will undoubtedly boost the quality within West Brom’s squad, but Pulis’ concern may leave the Baggies supporters worried.
But perhaps they can also be optimistic that Pulis would not have brought him to the club unless he was fully confident that he can bring the best out of him, both in terms of his form and his fitness.
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