View: 20y/o West Brom rookie could be latest success for academy after impressive display
Dara O’Shea finally made his league debut for West Brom on Saturday when he came off the bench in the 1-1 draw against Brentford at The Hawthorns.
The 20-year-old was handed his first appearance for the Baggies back in August when he completed 90 minutes of the Carabao Cup defeat to Millwall.
That was not a game that many West Brom fans will remember too well but O’Shea certainly impressed in that outing and it was clear that he was someone with potential.
On Saturday, the Dublin-born rookie, who joined the Baggies’ academy at the age of 16, showed that he is certainly someone who needs to be kept an eye on as he put in a solid shift against Brentford.
O’Shea entered the action in the 49th minute as a replacement for Kyle Bartley and went on to help West Brom earn a point in a game where a defeat was certainly on the cards.
According to stats by WhoScored, O’Shea completed 89 per cent of his passes – no other West Brom player had a higher success rate.
The Republic of Ireland Under-21 international also won the only aerial duel he challenged for, completed the one tackle he attempted and made four clearances.
Without O’Shea playing well off the bench, Albion could have easily lost that game.
O’Shea has shown signs that he could be the latest success story for West Brom’s academy.
It has been a long time since we have seen a centre-back emerge from the club’s youth set-up with Nathan Ferguson becoming a full-back since his step up to the first team.
Hopefully we get to see a lot more of O’Shea over the coming years.
In other West Brom news, fans reacted on Twitter to Semi Ajayi’s display against the Bees.