Slaven Bilic’s West Bromwich Albion took on Leeds United at The Hawthorns and Filip Krovinovic flattered to deceive for the Baggies.
A number of West Bromwich Albion fans have been commenting on Twitter about their Championship draw on New Year’s Day and despite many of the Baggies players being praised, Filip Krovinovic’s display came under some scrutiny.
West Brom boss Slaven Bilic named his fellow Croatian in the starting XI against fellow Championship promotion hopefuls Leeds United at The Hawthorns, being deployed in a wider role, and he very much flattered to deceive against Marcelo Bielsa’s charges.
Krovinovic struggled to cope with the Whites’ physicality and aggression, also picking up a yellow card for a foul on Luke Ayling, before being hauled off by Bilic just after the hour for Kyle Edwards.
Although the 24-year-old was decent against Barnsley, opening his account for the Baggies, he’s not made the same impact as fellow loanees Matheus Pereira and Grady Diangana, instead spending much of his time as a squad rotation player.
Here is what some West Brom fans said about Krovinovic’s display against Leeds:
Krovinovic linked up with The Hawthorns outfit from Portuguese giants Benfica on a season-long loan deal, Bilic’s first signing since his appointment to The Hawthorns dugout (BBC Sport).
The player, who cost Benfica around £3.2million from Rio Ave in the summer of 2017 (Transfermarkt), is due to go back to the Estadio da Luz at the end of the season, where he’s contracted until the summer of 2022.
With Benfica having recently signed Julian Weigl from Borussia Dortmund (Sky Sports), it looks as though Krovinovic’s long-term future at the Lisbon club could be in jeopardy – and given how he’s flattered to deceive far too often for the Baggies, his future may also lie away from The Hawthorns.
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