Boss Gary Megson admitted: “It was looking touch and go over the last 48 hours because other agents were trying to get involved and move Robert to other clubs.

“But he’s now a West Brom player. This move will give him the opportunity in the Premiership that he’s wanted and he now needs to prove himself to a new public.

“Hopefully he will give us something we’ve maybe not had for a while which is a real sharpness up front,” Megson told Albion’s official website, www.wba.co.uk.

Earnshaw has long been coveted by top-flight clubs for his phenomenal strike-rate in the lower divisions.

He scored 107 goals in 167 games for Cardiff plus seven in 13 appearances for Wales – including a hat-trick against Scotland in February.

He will link up with his international colleagues Andy Johnson and Jason Koumas at The Hawthorns when he returns from Welsh duty late next week.