According to Football Insider, West Bromwich Albion could lose yet another one of their promising academy hopefuls in January with Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain entering the race for Jovan Malcolm.
What’s the word?
It is believed that a bundle of Premier League sides, including both Manchester clubs and Champions League winners Liverpool, have been closely keeping tabs on the 17-year-old attacker.
Malcolm is the top goalscorer in the U18 Premier League having notched eight goals this campaign, including five in his last two games, per Transfermarkt.
Watch West Bromwich Albion Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below
He is able to play anywhere across the front three, though, the majority of his goals have come from centre-forward (six).
The same source claims that Malcolm is yet to sign professional terms at the club, which means he could depart next month at a cut-price.
Dowling under fire
For many at the Hawthorns, this is an all too familiar story, and it’s about time sporting and technical director Luke Dowling did something about it.
The Baggies just cannot keep allowing every single youth prospect to leave for pastures new as soon as they hit the right age.
Louie Barry and Morgan Rogers were lost to Barcelona and Manchester City this summer, but it’s an issue that has always surrounded the club – think back to Jerome Sinclair, Izzy Brown, and even Yan Dhanda.
The same saga is also mounting over first-team star Nathan Ferguson, who could be sold in January as a result of his reluctance to not accept the lucrative terms offered to him.
Albion’s academy setup effectively only serves the purpose to produce talent for other clubs and to occasionally make money from it, although, mostly through a small nominal fee as they fail to tie their prospects up to long-term deals.
Whose Line Is It Anyway: Roy Keane, Graeme Souness or Adrian Durham?
Something needs to change, and that can begin with Dowling.
Get these players to stay at the club to set a better example for future youngsters, and maybe they’d be more inclined to hang around, especially if a clear pathway to the senior fold was far more evident.
And in other news, Alan Nixon’s update on this Championship superstar spells bad news for West Brom…
