The ‘incredible left-footed player’ praised by Pep Guardiola that West Brom should look to target this summer
The new Championship season is fast approaching and one club that still needs to bolster its midfield options heading into the new season is West Brom.
The Baggies finished last term in ninth position with 64 points, leaving them four adrift of the play-offs. It marked an underwhelming season that had promised so much before Carlos Corberan’s mid-season exit to Valencia and statistically was the club’s worst year in terms of points since the start of the century in 1999/2000 when the likes of Brian Little and Gary Megson took charge.
A weak end to the campaign ultimately cost Tony Mowbray his job and the board of directors have since turned to an intriguing name in Ryan Mason to try and restore the club to the promised land of the Premier League.
Mason has never previously managed at professional level but he has garnered plenty of experience at Tottenham Hotspur working under some of the greatest minds in the game and even at times stepping into the dugout on an interim basis.
His knowledge of youth team football from working at Tottenham is believed to be invaluable and it’s those experiences that should sway him towards a very particular player in the final month of the transfer window.
The talented Tottenham wonderkid Ryan Mason should look to sign
West Brom scored 57 goals in 46 games last season. It marked their third lowest return from a second tier campaign this century and saw them pick up 19 draws – seven of which were 0-0 draws.
Clearly the Baggies are in need of further creativity if they are to get closer to the numbers needed to stage a serious promotion bid, and one player that could assist them in that goal is Jamie Donley. The three-time Northern Ireland international has been a part of the Tottenham setup since the age of eight and signed his first professional contract with the club in 2022.
He’s played under Ryan Mason at youth team level in the past and boasts an incredible record of 26 goals and 10 assists in 40 appearances at Under-18 level and an impressive 11 goals and 20 assists from 50 matches at Under-21 level.Donley is a central attacking midfielder that mainly operates in the No.10 position although he has proven at youth level that he can operate as a centre forward on occasion.
The 20-year-old has had limited opportunities to impress at Tottenham with just four first team appearances but has shown great signs of promise during a loan spell at Leyton Orient.
Overall, 52 appearances across all competitions for Richie Wellen’s side, scoring eight goals and contributing 11 assists across all competitions. Donley looked a class above many around him in League One and was renowned for his incredible ability to create chances and strike a ball from distance. “I can’t speak highly enough of Jamie, he is a talented player,” Wellens said.
