Matt Maher: Haemorrhage of talent a serious drain on West Brom
You don’t have to be a product of Albion’s academy to sign for Villa – but it helps.
So went one of several social media jokes yesterday after a month when the stream of young players moving, either directly or otherwise, between The Hawthorns and Villa Park continued.
Morgan Rogers is obviously the most high-profile, having arrived at Villa via Manchester City and Middlesbrough in a deal which could eventually be worth around £15million.
But another signing, left-back Lino Sousa from Arsenal, also began his career with the Baggies, while Villa also signed 16-year-old midfielder Keilan Quinn for £1m. The trio join Tim Iroegbunam, Louie Barry, Rico Richards, Luka Lynch and Triston Rowe as former Albion academy players now on Villa’s books. Finn Azaz and Finlay Thorndike have, meanwhile, already been and gone after moving on to Middlesbrough and Blues respectively. All left Albion following academy chief Mark Harrison’s 2019 switch to Villa, along with several members of his staff.
