Sport

Tony Pulis left stunned by Gnabry’s four Champions League goals after calling him ‘not good enough’ to play for West Brom – The Sun

TONY PULIS was forced to eat his own words after famously revealing that Serge Gnabry was "not at the level" to play for West Brom.

The ex-Baggies boss handed the Bayern Munich superstar just 12 minutes of league action during his time in the dugout at the Hawthorns.


Pulis loaned the winger from Arsenal in the summer of 2015 but sent him back after just six months.

Three-and-a-half years later and the Germany international produced a scintillating performance to score four goals in Bayern's 7-2 demolition of Tottenham. 

Gnabry, 24, turned North London red with an unstoppable second half performance to leave Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino under huge pressure.

The Argentine manager wasn't the only one blown away by his performance.

Gnabry's loan stint in the Midlands consisted of a brief cameo against Chelsea when he came on for Callum McManaman in the 78th minute of a 3-2 defeat in 2015.

The winger also started two League Cup matches against Port Vale and Norwich in which he was hooked off in both.

Speaking in 2015, Pulis said: "[Serge Gnabry] just hasn't been for me, at the moment, at that level to play the games [for West Brom]."

He returned to the Gunners in January 2016 and was later sold to Werder Bremen for a measly £5million.

Pulis, who was in the Sky Sports studio, was left in disbelief after hearing the news of Gnabry's famous Champions League performance.

When hearing of his four goals, the ex-Stoke boss said: "You could knock me over with a feather.

"I'm amazed. We had him at West Brom, we took him on loan and we could never get him fit.

"He even got taken off in an under-21 game and he went back to Arsenal and they sold him on.

"He was a nice kid, I didn't mind him at all and he's really fulfilled his potential.

"To have him at West Brom and seeing him do what he's done is absolutely amazing.

"When people show what they can really do and knuckle-down and become so good as he's done it's absolutely fantastic."

Pulis was unsurprisingly mocked on social media with one writing: "Just admit you were wrong."

Another added: "Pulis probably had him playing fullback hitting long diagonals all the time though."

Source: Read Full Article