Carlos Corberan happy with West Brom impact of ‘danger’ Grady Diangana

The winger had endured injury hell with six months out either side of the summer, but has been reintroduced to Corberan’s plans over the last month, and the head coach felt he saw a response from Saturday’s struggles in the stalemate with Plymouth.

“I think he had a positive reaction after the last game he played,” Corberan said. “He was impacting positive things in attack, he was fouled for the penalty and scored the goal.

“He was producing good in one-v-one, he was a dangerous player and made some very good finishing. The players who play in the last third, for me it’s important they produce and he found a way to finish the action he started.”

Diangana, a transfer target for other clubs over the summer, also crashed the woodwork from distance. He began as a central ‘playmaker’, in John Swift’s absence, in the first half, but Corberan felt he was more effective on the flanks after the break.

He added: “The first half we attacked with Wallace on the right, Phillips the left and him as a playmaker, now we don’t have a playmaker in Swift, and Sarmiento, you have two possibilities, a midfielder as a playmaker or a winger as a playmaker.

“A player I watched comfortable receiving the ball with his back turned is Grady, he can perform well, but I saw him better on the right side attacking as a winger, because the game demanded this. Maybe in another game is doesn’t demand the same type of solution.”

A sour note from the QPR win was a knee injury for defender Cedric Kipre, who once again played well. Corberan fears an absence of months, rather than weeks, pending a scan.

With Semi Ajayi (ankle) also out and unlikely to return for a trip to Coventry next Monday, academy graduate Caleb Taylor, 20, arrived from the bench for his league debut late on.

“When one player gives a step back or has an injury and is moved from the team, another needs to give a step forward, this is how football works.” Corberan said. “But at the same time we never of course want to lose players that we understand are important for the level of the team.”