West Brom’s Rekeem Harper needs to justify Slaven Bilic’s decision with a loan move

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

West Bromwich Albion’s season is going as close to perfect as you can get. They have lost just one match all season. They sit top of the league. And they are showing no signs of letting up any time soon.

In fact, if Slaven Bilic’s men can keep this up into 2020, then they are surely a shoo-in for a return to the promised land of the Premier League. It can’t really be argued considering their current rate sees them average 2.2 points per game, above and beyond Norwich City’s 2.06 which was enough to win them the title last term.

Watch West Bromwich Albion Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

However, for all of the positives, there has to be negatives, right?

Well, in the summer, one of Slaven Bilic’s first decisions was to tie Rekeem Harper down amongst interest from Champions League winners Liverpool and Serie A champions Juventus. The 19-year-old extended his contract for three years, keeping him at the Hawthorns until 2022.

Given the Croatian’s desperation in trying to keep hold of him, it seems rather absurd not to have seen him feature this season barring a six-minute cameo on the opening day – he’s not even been named in a matchday squad since. Bizarre.

There is an argument to be made that skipper Jake Livermore and Romaine Sawyers have been playing out of their skin so he wouldn’t have received a chance anyway, which is true, but then surely Harper was expendable in the summer?

His absence is firstly going to jeopardise his long-term potential and secondly, it will reduce any future fee they want to make on him later down the line.

Therefore, to justify such a decision, it would be wise for the midfield starlet to pursue a loan move in January. That way, he can garner some much-needed game time, show Bilic why he should be in his matchday squad and also keep his value at some sort of sellable level.

[ad_pod ]

Meanwhile, this West Brom colossus has excelled despite manager Slaven Bilic tweaking his position…