Done deal: West Brom complete loan signing of Filip Krovinovic
Slaven Bilic has made his first signing as Albion head coach – bringing in Croatian playmaker Filip Krovinovic on a season-long loan from Benfica.
There is no option to buy the 23-year-old included in the deal, but there is also no recall option in January, so the Baggies will not suffer the same fate as last season when Harvey Barnes went back to Leicester.
Albion have paid Benfica around £300,000 for the loan, although that will be doubled if they win promotion.
Krovinovic is a versatile attacking midfielder who plays predominantly as a No.10, and is well known to Bilic, having featured for Croatia’s under-21s.
The youngster moved from hometown club NK Zagreb to Portuguese outfit Rio Ave in 2015 and after two impressive seasons, Benfica snapped him up in 2017.
His Benfica career started off promisingly, but he suffered a nasty knee injury two seasons ago and subsequently struggled to get back into the team.
Technical director Luke Dowling said: “Filip is a bright, energetic player who is looking forward to representing this football club and everyone here is delighted to have him with us, especially Slaven Bilić.
“It’s great that Filip is here in time to travel to our pre-season training camp in Spain [next week].
"That trip will help build his fitness alongside his new team-mates, who he can also begin to get to know.
“Filip has gained good experience representing Benfica and we hope he will continue to develop as a player during his time at The Hawthorns.”
Krovinovic is expected to play with his new team-mates for the first time in a behind-closed-doors friendly against AFC Telford at the training ground tomorrow.
