Aston Villa sign West Brom academy product

Aston Villa have signed Luka Lynch from West Bromwich Albion's academy.

Lynch swapped Albion for Villa with Triston Rowe, Finley Thorndike, Tim Iroegbunam and Finn Azaz also making the same move recently according to The Secret Scout social media account with the deal completed before the coronavirus pandemic.

Mark Harrison, Villa's academy manager, also used to work at West Brom.

Villa have transformed their academy in recent years with recruitment into the club's Bodymoor Heath training base superb.

And the development of existing talent has seen players given chances to progress into the first-team, Jacob Ramsey the stand-out example.

Carney Chukwuemeka, Tim Iroegbunam, Tommi O'Reilly and Ben Chrisene have all been handed places in the matchday squad for the past couple of Villa games.

Lynch normally plays with the club's Under-16s but was on the substitute's bench for Villa's Unde-18s for a game against Chelsea last month..

Villa have made it their mission under owners Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens to get Bodymoor brimming with young talent able to make the step up to the club's first-team.

The club has also released plans for an academy building near Villa Park, closer to the city than the training ground.

"Our new central Birmingham satellite academy at Brookvale, adjacent to Villa Park, has received planning permission and we are expecting construction to begin shortly," the club said earlier this week.

The future is bright at Villa with Kaine Kesler Hayden and Louie Barry both out on loan and doing well for Milton Keynes Dons and Swindon Town respectively.

Kerr Smith was brought in from Dundee United in January with the 17 year-old going straight into the club's academy setup through the Under-23s