OPINION
West Brom might have relied on their experienced heads to guide them to a top six finish this season but there are plenty of future prospects waiting in the wings to make a name for themselves at the Hawthorns.
It might have been the likes of Sam Field and Rekeem Harper who have been given the most chances by Darren Moore and then James Shan throughout the campaign, but 20-year-old Jonathan Leko is still thought as as one of the club’s top young prospects.
However, his lack of game time this season, managing just two Championship outings in a total of six senior appearances, shows he still has a long way to go and a number of hurdles to overcome – which will not be helped with the arrival of another winger this summer.
Football League World report that the Baggies are chasing the capture of Portsmouth’s Jamal Lowe this summer – a versatile forward who shares a similar mould to that of Leko – after his 14 goal campaign for Pompey.
The arrival of the hot shot at the Hawthorns would be fierce competition for Matt Phillips, Jacob Murphy unlikely to stay on board after his bang average campaign, and throw Leko’s future in the first team into further doubt.
He should be at the stage of his career where he is on the fringes of making a breakthrough but instead seems stuck between the first team and under-23 football and Lowe’s capture would throw him further into limbo.
He has a long way to go before making a claim for a regular senior spot – a new signing is only going to act as another bump in the road for his development.