‘I love him’ – Slaven Bilic lavishes praise on West Brom ‘powerhouse’
Slaven Bilic has hailed West Brom midfielder Rekeem Harper for making considerable progress in recent weeks.
The 20-year-old has made eight Championship appearances this season, but put in an influential performance in the 3-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday in midweek.
And the boss is delighted with his development this term.
As quoted by the Express and Star, he said: “Rekeem is one of the players who has made the biggest progress since lockdown, and before lockdown as well.
“In the beginning, he wasn’t consistent. He was showing glimpses of his talent and ability, but not all the time.
“Rekeem had started to play really well, he had started to train consistently – power, movement, tactics, stamina, skill, everything. He’s becoming more and more mature.
“I never denied that I love him as a player – I love those kind of players, who are powerhouses but can pass the ball, that’s great. He’s in a good way, let’s be honest, but he cannot stop, he must keep working.”
Harper’s talent has never really been in any doubt, but as with most young players, the key is for him to be able to produce his best form on a regular basis.
And we’re starting to see that this season.
On six occasions, Harper’s pass completion rate has been 90% or more – a stat that Jake Livermore has only just matched despite playing 31 times more in 2019/20, as per Wyscout.
Harper also has a higher dribble success rate than his more experienced teammate.
In short, it’s easy to see why Bilic is so enamoured with Harper, and you would hope and expect that he can kick on from here to become an influential player for West Brom on a weekly basis.
In other West Brom news, Kevin Phillips has explained why this one Baggies star has been recently dropped by Bilic
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