This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk‘ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
West Bromwich Albion have lost their grip on yet another talented prospect as it was confirmed this week that Reyes Cleary has opted to depart the Baggies.
The 18-year-old striker turned down a professional deal with Albion, despite being offered what the club believed to be an attractive package.
It has been a whirlwind season for Cleary, who in the season prior to 2021-22 had scored eight times for West Brom’s under-18’s in the youth Premier League from 15 outings.
His record in the same competition this past season was 13 goals in 11 appearances, as well as scoring seven times for the club’s under-23’s in 15 games, and that kind of form not only led to his first-team debut in the FA Cup against Brighton in January, but also big clubs start to circle around his signature.
Arsenal, Everton, Bayern Munich and Newcastle United are just some of the clubs believed to have watched Cleary this season with a view to bringing him in, and he’s opted to join a long line of youngsters that includes Izzy Brown, Tim Iroegbunam, Yan Dhanda and Jerome Sinclair for perceived bigger things.
One person who believes that Cleary could be making a big mistake is FLW’s West Brom fan pundit Matt, who has indicated that staying at Albion would have been best for the young striker’s immediate first-team opportunities.
“It’s difficult to really judge if Cleary is making the correct or incorrect move before we find out which club he’s turned Albion down to join,” Matt said.
“Perhaps he may arrive somewhere with a more realistic
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