Jamal Jimoh sends farewell message after West Brom transfer exit sealed
Jamal Jimoh has sent a message to West Brom fans on social media confirming that he will be leaving the club this summer.
Express and Star reported (13 June) that Jimoh, 16, had agreed a deal with Aston Villa in a transfer that was worth around £1million, with the Baggies set to receive 10% of any sell-on fee in the future.
The five-capped England Under-17 international looks set to become the latest academy player to make the journey to Aston Villa’s Bodymoor Heath academy, following the likes of Tim Iroegbunam and Finn Azaz.
Taking to Instagram on Thursday (29 June), Jimoh wrote: “This is not a message I thought I’d be writing so soon, to a club that has done so much for me and my family.
“After 10 years, It is with a heavy heart that I have made the very difficult decision to leave my boyhood club. This was not an easy decision for me to take, however, it’s one that I felt was necessary.
“I would like to thank everybody at West Brom, my teammates for supporting me week in week out on the pitch & my coaches for pushing me year after year to improve.
“I’m forever grateful.”
Rinse and repeat
If the deal with Aston Villa is confirmed, Jimoh will follow in the footsteps of several other of West Brom’s academy stars.
Time and time again, the Baggies are happy to sell to their close rivals, but in this case, it looks like a smart deal if the £1million fee is correct and the sell-on clause is included.
The problem for West Brom is that at some point, they will have to start providing Carlos Corberan with academy stars to pick from, especially if the club’s financial issues continue into the near future.
After failing to secure promotion to the Premier League last campaign, Corberan has already had to sell Dara O’Shea, with the Daily Mail (29 April) predicting a further fire sale of players.
The Spanish manager has already shared his plans to unearth some new gems from within the academy next season, with the Under-21s likely to be vital in helping the club navigate the Championship’s strenuous fixture list.
In other West Brom news, Carlos Corberan has revealed which players he would like to sign