Don Goodman has reacted to the news that Aston Villa have signed young midfielder Max Jenner from West Brom.
Villa confirmed on their official website on 6 July that Jenner has been awarded a deal as part of the club’s scholarship programme.
Fellow Baggies prospect Keilan Quinn has also agreed scholarship terms, having first joined Villa’s academy earlier this year. Tim Iroegbunam, Rico Richards, Finn Azaz, Finley Thorndike and Jamal Jimoh-Aloba are among other youth players who’ve made the Albion-to-Villa transfer with Louis Barry and Morgan Rogers on their books having started off with the Black Country club.
Speaking exclusively to West Brom News about Jenner’s decision to join the Villans, Goodman said: “They have a history of poaching young talent from clubs.
“I can name several they’ve had from West Brom, such as Ugo Ehiogu, so there’s a history there also in looking at that market – one they’ve done particularly well in over the years.”
West Brom losing too many young talents
Young talents leaving clubs hoping the grass will be greener is nothing new, of course, but it is still tough for supporters to take.
Given their age, nobody quite knows how the careers of Jenner and Quinn will play out, but they clearly have something about them.
One look at Tom Fellows shows that there is a pathway from the academy through to the senior side, although supporters would still like to see more such examples.
The problem is that with the club out of the Premier League, youngsters are more easily swayed by the prospect of joining a team higher up the ladder.
It is something Albion need to rectify, or else there will be no ‘one of our own’ breaking through the ranks anytime soon.
