The talented West Bromwich Albion midfielder has been recalled from loan.
One of West Bromwich Albion’s first actions in the January transfer window has been to recall young midfielder Rekeem Harper from his loan spell at Blackburn Rovers.
The 17-year-old made his Premier League debut for West Brom in August before being sent out on loan to Blackburn Rovers, but he found playing time difficult to come by and has now been recalled, as reported by the official Blackburn website.
West Brom manager Alan Pardew, who took charge in November, is eager to run the rule over Harper before deciding the next step in his development.
It is certainly true that West Brom would benefit from an injection of creativity in their side but Harper’s lack of experience and the fact that he couldn’t force his way into the starting lineup of a League One side indicates that he perhaps isn’t ready to be called upon in the heat of a relegation battle.
Given that many talented youngsters struggle to get regular game time out on loan, perhaps it would be best for Harper to stay at West Brom and be used mainly at U23 level, while he could also train with the first-team and benefit from Pardew’s guidance.
That way, if West Brom were to suffer an injury crisis or Pardew was seeking a wildcard option to swing a game in his side’s favour, he could call upon Harper, without putting the prospect under too much pressure as he wouldn’t be playing every week.
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