West Brom starlet Reyes Cleary wanted by Premier League and European clubs
West Brom are facing an uphill battle to keep hold of 17-year-old striker Reyes Cleary as he attracts interest from several clubs, according to the Daily Mail.
The Englishman scored his 30th goal of the season for the Baggies’ youth teams on Monday but he is yet to sign a professional deal at The Hawthorns despite a contract offer being on the table.
This latest report suggests they are now on the back foot in negotiations as Premier League clubs circle to sign the highly-rated striker.
Arsenal, Everton, Southampton and Newcastle United are the four Premier League clubs named by the Daily Mail but they also claim that three teams from abroad are monitoring his progress.
The most worrying of whom are German champions Bayern Munich along with RB Salzburg and Bayer Leverkusen who may make a move for Cleary.
Even though he isn’t contracted professionally at West Brom, the club should still receive a compensation fee if he leaves this summer.
Their own doing
This is a big problem for Steve Bruce and West Brom and there is very little they can do about it now.
Cleary has been one of the best players in youth football this season across the entire country but he has still yet to make his debut for the Baggies.
At most other football clubs, a teenager of such talent would have been given the odd substitute appearance or start in a cup game to gain vital experience but the 17-year-old has had nothing of the sort.
Especially when the Albion couldn’t score for love nor money, Cleary should have been getting minutes given the free-scoring form he has been in for the academy.
But they kept him away from the senior squad and now they look set to lose him to a club who might value him higher than they do.
They could still persuade him to stay before the summer rolls around but to do that, they absolutely must give him game time in the Championship to prove his worth.
In other West Brom news, Joseph Masi has shared who he thinks should be Baggies captain going forward.
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