Expert: West Brom ‘on the brink’ of mass exodus after behind-the-scenes blow
West Brom are at risk of losing their brightest academy prospects to rival clubs if they lose their Category One academy status.
That is the view of injury expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in medicine and data analysis.
As relayed by Training Ground Guru last Tuesday (21 June), Albion’s academy has effectively been placed under special measures.
The Baggies will lose their Category One status if they do not pass an audit from the Professional Game Academy due at some point in 2022-23.
Dinnery explains why rising stars are less likely to want to train with the Championship side if they no longer rank among the best academies in the country.
“Ultimately, Category One status implies you are among a small group of elite academies,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“They have the infrastructure to facilitate and develop the talent of these young players. The fact you are seen as one of those few can be a very attractive prospect for a young player who is deciding where they want to go.
“If you have offers from Category One and Two teams, you’d be more inclined to go for Category One. You know they have the infrastructure to bring you forward to that next level. It’s a rigorous audit that these clubs have to go through.
“The fact that you’re on the brink of losing your status, is it a concern? Yes. Is it a huge concern? It depends where your priorities lie as a club. Ultimately, these things can be addressed and you can apply to get that status back.
“But it depends on your priorities with regards to that. It does definitely make you less attractive when you’re trying to bring in and retain new talent, however.”
In other news, Kieran Maguire suggests West Brom could bag multi-million stimulus “through the backdoor” as talks begin.