Why curious and exciting Jamal Mohammed continues to excel for West Brom and what coaches want next

Towering and stylish Mohammed is a central defender who stands out for a number of reasons, one for his 6ft 5ins frame and another for his confidence and technical ability in possession.

One watch of Leigh Downing's under-21s or glimpse at the London-born defender's social media show a confident youngster with the bag of tricks of a winger and an eye for a pass.

Mohammed, who was twice an unused substitute for Albion in the Championship last term but still awaits a senior debut, told the Express & Star last season he idolises Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk. He is expected to once again marshal the under-21s' backline on Wednesday night as Downing's youngsters face German visitors Borussia Monchengladbach in the Premier League International Cup.

Mohammed is a curious prospect and a release from lower league Peterborough at the age of 16 could be the Baggies' long-term gain. 

"Jamal obviously had a pre-season in and around the first team and I think when you look at Jamal straight away he hits the centre-half attributes in terms of his presence," said boss Downing.

"He's a good ball player, he can be calm and composed with it, he's got a good range of pass. He's one that's getting better and better with each game at the minute.

"Sometimes when you have got such good physicality you can rely on it a little bit.

"Against (National League side) Braintree recently in the first half he plays up against more of a tricky, speedy forward and then the second half they bring on an experienced John Akinde who's bigger and stronger than Jamal and actually gets the better of Jamal for one of the goals.

"But the good thing is Jamal didn't let that affect him and he's now scored two goals already this season from set-pieces, he's a real threat. He then sets up the winning goal with a good give-and-go, forward run and cross."

Mohammed, who turns 20 in March, first caught the eye with Albion more than two years ago as he appeared under Carlos Corberan in pre-season friendly action, where he impressed. He had only recently joined the Baggies.

His progress was derailed a little over a year later when 17-year-old Mohammed was cruelly sidelined early in the season by a horrific knee injury involving the meniscus and anterior cruciate ligament. It was a long road back and subsequent muscle setbacks meant a period out of action of 19 months.

The defender returned at the beginning of this year and is now making up for lost time.

Boss Downing, who took over from Richard Beale during the summer, added: "I think the thing with Jamal is we want him to realise the attributes he's got, keep playing at that high energy, high tempo, no nonsense defending when he needs to.

"He's one that we'd like to see eventually stepping out into the real world of getting a loan, because he's a second-year pro now. Hopefully that's something that will come around for him to push him on in the future."