Carlos Corberan: West Brom academy players to train with first-team in Spain camp
Carlos Corberan has admitted that a number of West Brom’s brightest academy prospects will train with the first team during their one-week training camp in Spain, according to Express and Star.
The Baggies’ first team jetted off to Costa Blanca yesterday (Sunday 27 November), where they will undergo double training sessions as they prepare for a return to Championship action against Sunderland on Monday 12 December.
Albion’s Under-21s have been in terrific form this season and currently sit third in the PL2 Division 2 table, with a number of their stars stepping up to Corberan’s ranks after impressing the new manager.
The likes of Ethan Ingram, Zac Ashworth and Reyes Clearly have already enjoyed first-team minutes this season and according to Express and Star, the Spanish manager has given several youngsters the chance to partake in the training camp.
He said: “All the first team players are going to travel, including some of the academy players who are interesting to us – to help them get the ideas of the first team and be integrated with the squad.
“Now is a fantastic period of time to increase the behaviours, to feed better our ideas, and to move that into the game situation.”
Revamp
Corberan is right to allow West Brom’s brightest prospects a chance to prove themselves with the first-team squad.
The likes of Ingram and Ashworth will both be better off training amongst the first team, as they won’t see themselves improve at the same rate by training with the Under-21s every week.
Players such as these two find themselves at a mid-way point between the Under-21s and the first team and can’t progress without exposure at the higher level.
From a larger viewpoint, the injection of youth into the Baggies squad can’t do any harm.
For too long, West Brom have relied on its senior pros, such as Kyle Bartley and Jake Livermore to deliver for the team – with little success – so a changing of the guard needs to happen at some point soon.
Corberan’s appointment seems to have started this transition, and academy players across the club will now be relishing the opportunity to move up through the age groups and succeed.
In other West Brom news, an ex-Baggies player believes Steve Bruce wasn’t to blame for the club’s Championship collapse.