‘Sink or swim’ – Exclusive: Kevin Phillips delivers verdict on Harper display v Preston
We’re delighted to welcome former West Brom striker Kevin Phillips as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns…
Kevin Phillips was impressed by Rekeem Harper after he made his first Championship start of the season for West Brom on Tuesday night.
Harper, 19, completed 90 minutes as Albion cruised to a 2-0 victory against Preston at The Hawthorns after stepping into the side due to Romaine Sawyers’ suspension.
The young midfielder was a regular last season for both Darren Moore and Jimmy Shan but has found himself on the fringes of Slaven Bilic’s first-team this term with him appearing just once before the start of February in the league.
Harper was used as a substitute in three of the five league games before his start against Preston and Phillips has suggested that Bilic must have seen something from the youngster in training to show he was ready to start.
“He was good,” Phillips told West Brom News. “I saw him hit the bar. It was really unlucky. He’s really putting himself in positions where he can try and get on the scoresheet.
“When you ask a player to step in and make his first league start at this stage of the season, certainly with him being a young kid, sometimes they can either sink or swim.
“This kid looks like he’s got a big future in front of him.
“It always makes it easier when you go into a side that’s flying at the top of the league. You’ve got good players in and around you that can help you but, nevertheless, you’ve still got to step up – and he certainly did that on Tuesday night, so credit to the player.
“It’s only the manager who knows whether it’s the right or wrong time to put the kid in and he’s obviously seen enough in training and knows enough about the player to know he’ll go and handle the pressure.”
Of course, Harper’s return to the starting line-up is more down to Sawyers’ suspension rather than the fact he merited his place.
However there is no denying that the 19-year-old played superbly against Preston and that bodes well for the next two games while Sawyers is still unavailable.
Harper controlled possession well with stats by WhoScored showing that he completed 84 per cent of his passes. Filip Kronovic was the only player who started the game to have a higher pass success rate.
The teenager also struck the crossbar late on and appeared to cover pretty much every blade of grass on The Hawthorns pitch.
It was a top display by the youngster and we cannot wait to see if he can continue that form when Wigan arrive in the Black Country this weekend.
In other West Brom news, there has been an update on Grady Diangana’s recovery from his injury setback.