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da 888casino： This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
West Brom’s academy is widely regarded as one of the best in the Midlands, and quite possibly the country too. Luke Dowling recently claimed it was one with an enviable reputation.
Rekeem Harper, Kyle Edwards and Nathan Ferguson are just three names to see the first-team limelight over the past two seasons, having established themselves as some of the best prospects the youth setup has to offer.
All three appear to be in manager Slaven Bilic’s plans in some form, the latter two have started games in the Championship this season while the Croatian is adamant we will see the 19-year-old midfielder soon enough.
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It may be a telling sign of one’s ability when they are sent out on loan rather than being bred amongst the senior team, but that’s not the case at the Hawthorns when you have so many talents coming through the ranks.
Earlier in the summer, the club sent both Sam Field and Jonathan Leko out on loan to Charlton Athletic, which is a rather smart move considering they are in the second tier too.
On the Chalkboard
Whilst playing for the Addicks, Leko has seen himself in a new role – striker.
He had formed a partnership with Lyle Taylor, one which kept out summer arrival Macauley Bonne until last weekend before also being given a chance next to Tomer Hemed.
The 20-year-old has now played six straight games in the centre-forward position and in that run, he’s scored and assisted a goal, which isn’t a bad start considering his natural position has mainly been out wide.
When agreeing to send out the duo to Charlton, Bilic made sure there was a recall clause available in the deal so he could call upon either player in January.
That could well happen if Leko continues to show his worth as a striker down in south-east London.
Charlie Austin is still yet to get off the mark for the club despite costing £4m in the summer from Southampton – in fact, his first contribution towards any league goal came last Sunday in their 4-2 win over Huddersfield as he assisted Matty Phillips for the equaliser.
He still has a lot to do to show he was worth pursuing on deadline day and if West Brom’s forward line still struggle for goals it may not be too big a surprise if Leko came back and played up front.
Bilic utilised Oliver Burke in a central role in pre-season so he’s no stranger to utilising wide players in different positions.
With that in mind, the youngster might well be someone that comes back into the fold in January to challenge Austin to an extra degree.