Valerien Ismael delighted with West Brom youngster Taylor Gardner-Hickman
Valerien Ismael has been delighted with the progress of young West Brom man Taylor Gardner-Hickman.
The 19-year-old has made the breakthrough from the reserves into the first team and has the potential to become an important player for the Baggies.
Speaking to The Athletic, the Frenchman heaped praise on Gardner-Hickman, who played a starring role for the Baggies last week against Coventry City.
However, he wasn’t playing in his usual position and had to fill in as a central midfielder, but he was fantastic.
Ismael said: “He’s fast, and he’s able to cover big distances in the game — over 12 kilometres — at high speeds and sprints and his quality with the ball.
“He’s really comfortable on the ball, he has no fear on it, and it was refreshing in the training sessions when we saw him.
“He asks a lot of questions.
“Last week, before the game at Coventry, I spoke to him twice in my office, and we went through clips and what we expected from him.
“After that, he texted my video analyst and my assistant with questions.
“He thinks and is involved all the time. It’s great to see when the player is ready to go like that. He can get the result really quickly.”
Gardner-Hickman on his way to the top?
The 19-year-old looks like a superb prospect already, and in his three Championship appearances, he has performed well and looked solid.
In midfield last week, he was a constant force and won the ball back on many occasions for his side.
So, it will be interesting to see where Ismael sees his future because he can also play on the right or on the left as a wing-back.
So, he has plenty of options when it comes to playing Gardner-Hickman, and it is clear that he is a player that the Frenchman likes a lot.
Albion’s academy have a lot of bright youngsters, and Gardner-Hickman is setting them with an example to follow, and you would think he will play a lot more for the first team between now and the end of the season.
This is a great piece about the young Albion player, and there are some fascinating insights from other people who have been involved in Gardner-Hickman’s career to date.
In other West Brom news, Reyes Cleary has dropped an interesting clue on Instagram as contract talk continues.
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