West Bromwich Albion have produced a number of top-quality youngsters through their academy, with one look at Carlos Corberan’s regular starting lineup this season in the Championship already exposing two homegrown talents who are front and centre of his first-team plans.
Both Tom Fellows and Alex Palmer have fought hard to rise up the ranks in the West Midlands all the way to the first team, with Fellows registering five assists in the second tier this campaign, whilst his counterpart has kept an impressive tally of seven clean sheets from 13 league games.
Away from these rip-roaring successes, some academy starlets have unfortunately slipped through the net before West Brom could give them their moment to shine in the senior mix, with many examples haunting the Baggies.
West Brom's famed academy
Immediately, Morgan Rogers’ name springs to mind as one former West Brom academy player who has gone on to reach unbelievable heights away from the Hawthorns.
The Baggies were ultimately powerless to prevent Rogers from moving onto Manchester City in 2019, as the allure of the Premier League champions won the young attacking midfielder over. He is is now a consistent first-team performer for West Brom’s near neighbours in Aston Villa many years on from his exit.
The exciting Villa number 27 has three goals and three assists from 13 games in all competitions this season to date, which included scoring his team’s opener last time out versus Tottenham Hotspur before Ange Postecoglou’s men ran riot in a 4-1 win.
Other notable faces include the likes of Chris Wood and Tim Iroegbunam who are both on the books of clubs in the division above West Brom currently, with Wood firing home a stunning eight goals from ten games this campaign for Nottingham Forest.
When Wood was on the roster at the Baggies, he managed to register just three strikes from 27 clashes, before going on to become a deadly goal machine later on in his career.
There is another former academy player who could go on to be the biggest regret from West Brom’s perspective, with the starlet in question already receiving some top praise so early into his playing days.
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The former West Brom man who could be "England's future"
The starlet in question here is Lino Sousa, who is still only 19 years of age but has been hyped up for some time now.
Valerien Ismael allowed Sousa to leave the Hawthorns in January of 2022 for Arsenal, where he instantly settled in as a bright spark who had the arguable ability to go on to become a future first-team star at the Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal U21s
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5
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Arsenal U18s
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0
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West Brom U21s
1
0
0
West Brom U18s
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2
1
West Brom will now worry that they’ll be forgotten about when it comes to Sousa’s eventual explosion in the game, with five goals and one assist registered by the teenager in the Arsenal U21 ranks after leaving the Baggies.
Such was his bright form that it led to football data analyst Ben Mattinson boldly declaring that the youngster was “England’s future LB” when he left for Villa in January of this year.
Corberan and Co will just hope lightning doesn’t strike twice when it comes to a former academy prodigy going on to make a name for themselves at Villa, akin to Rogers’ rise, with the teenager also labelled as “really exciting” by then-Plymouth Argyle boss Ian Foster last season when briefly on loan at the Pilgrims.
Mikel Arteta’s side will also hope they aren’t made to look foolish for allowing Sousa to go, with Mattinson’s crystal ball prediction potentially coming true if everything clicks into place at Villa Park.
Away from lamenting about future stars they heartbreakingly lost before their prime, West Brom will just hope the likes of Palmer and Fellows can steer the Baggies to another playoff finish come the end of this campaign.
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