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Slaven Bilic outlines why he wanted Kamil Grosicki and Callum Robinson

Head coach Slaven Bilic has outlined why he wanted to sign winger Kamil Grosicki and forward Callum Robinson this month.

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West Bromwich Albion manager Slaven Bilic.

The Baggies confirmed the signing of Grosicki this morning with the 31-year-old signing an 18-month deal after Albion agreed an £800,000 fee with Hull.

Robinson arrived on loan from Sheffield United on Wednesday having previously been a target for West Brom in the summer.

Bilic admitted he was eager to bolster his forward options this month with players who already have Championship experience.

And the boss revealed Grosicki is a player he has wanted to work with for years, having first spotted him when he played for Rennes in France.

“I’m happy," Bilic said when asked about Grosicki's arrival.

"We like the player. I have liked him since he was in France, before he came to Hull.

“It’s been going on for years now. “He’s a player that knows the league and not only that, he proved himself in the Premier League.

“He’s a Polish international, who plays in the first XI for Poland and he plays in those positions that we were looking for.

“We were talking about different names but he was always in those names that we were interested in.

“When it occurred that it may happen I said straight away ‘do it, it’s a no-brainer’, especially considering the finances were OK for the club.

“But from a football point of view definitely."

Asked what Grosicki will bring to the team, Bilic continued: “He brings quality in that position one against one, he brings link play with the team and he brings running behind and deliveries and crosses and also goal threat - everything that you basically ask from players in those positions.

“He’s not afraid, he wants to take responsibility - give me the ball in good situations and I will show you.

“When we played Hull he was one of the main threats that we showed to the guys before the game.

"We wanted to double on him and not give him space to face you and space that he can run in behind you.

“He is a guy who has been doing that for years in different leagues.

“But it’s very important now because we don’t have the time.

"It’s not pre-season and you don’t have time for guys to get to know the league, the opponents, the intensity and the criteria of the referees and all the things that this league is specific in.

“You don’t have time to do that so we have brought in players - both of them that we brought in - who just have to put the shirt on."

Robinson's arrival has sparked confusion where he will play with the 24-year-old able to operate out wide and as a central striker.

But Bilic says it's that versatility that appealed to him.

“The majority of the things that I saw good about him is when he was coming from the left side," the head coach said when asked about Robinson's best position.

“That is when you look at him at Preston.

“Sheffield United play a different system to most of the teams but he can also play up front.

“He can play behind. He’s got a bit of everything.

“The good thing about him is that even when he plays wide you see a lot of him in the box.

“Sometimes those wide players don’t get in the box and you are lacking bodies there.

“But when he plays wide he is in the box when needed when the cross comes and that is one of the biggest things that we were looking for.

“So if you ask me, on both flanks and also up front, either alone or with someone.

“He can play three and a half or four positions.”

Albion host Luton tomorrow desperate to get back to winning ways in the Championship.

And Bilic confirmed both players are in contention to feature.

"With Callum definitely because he has trained with us," the Croatian added.

“Kamil is available, we will see but I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t play.

"Saying that, neither of these buys or loans are panic ones.

“They are the same targets we had a couple of months ago, the same targets when we talked about the January transfer window in October or November.

“We were talking about a couple of players in these positions.

“We talked about a few different names in a couple of months but we were talking about those positions.

“It maybe that one of them is there for tomorrow, it may be that both of them are there, but these two are a bonus. The players who were there before are the core of our team.

“These guys will help but nobody is going to walk into our team."