Carlos Corberan must start West Brom academy graduate v bottom-of-the-table Rotherham United
West Brom facing Rotherham United on Tuesday offers academy graduate Caleb Taylor a brilliant chance to make his first start of the season.
The 20-year-old has recently graduated from the academy at the Hawthorns, finding a spot on Carlos Corberan’s bench 11 times this season, playing just four minutes in a 2-0 victory over QPR.
While a loan spell at Cheltenham Town in League One is a big leap from the Championship, the clash against Rotherham presents Taylor with the perfect opportunity to start a match.
Taylor is one of the latest prospects to come through the Baggies’ academy and has bags of potential. Journalist John Percy says there are “high hopes” for him at the club, as per The Telegraph (30 November).
Of course, there is no easy way to integrate a youngster into the team, especially one striving for promotion back to the Premier League. There is no room for tests and trials or errors.
But with West Brom’s centre-back options rather depleted, now is as good a time as any to reserve a backup to 32-year-old Kyle Bartley and 30-year-old Semi Ajayi.
The latter will be absent for much of January, travelling to the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast. Rather than go into the transfer market in January, Taylor offers a simple solution.
And while he may lack experience at a top level, his career throughout the academy speaks for itself, as well as the 49 appearances in a single season with Cheltenham.
The sooner Corberan lets go of the reins a little, the more the youngster will learn. There may be a few errors along the way, but throwing him in the deep end seems like the best option for him.
Rotherham have conceded the second-highest number of goals in the Championship this season, while also scoring the second-least. If there was any time to deploy a young centre-back, it would surely be now.
This is not to say that there is any easy game in the Championship – there isn’t. But Corberan will not get a much better chance than this to see his prospect in action.
In other West Brom news, an Aston Villa supporter could become a part-owner of the Baggies in a new twist.