West Brom hero James Morrison hailed for north-east recruitment work to unearth midfield talent

Darlington-born Morrison spotted and arranged for central midfielder Crowther, who is just 16, to come to Albion at under-16 age group last season having been playing grassroots football in the north-east of the country.

The rangy, left-footed Crowther, who despite his years stands at 6ft 1ins, caught the eye with his first Premier League 2 goal at The Hawthorns on Monday night as Richard Beale's under-21s side saw off Reading 3-1.

It was just Crowther's second goal for the under-21s but the teen is already earning rave reviews and is well thought of. Boss Beale revealed Morrison - who played 341 times for Albion between 2007 and 2019 and is now on the staff - was behind the midfielder's emergence and labelled Crowther "a real find".

"Everybody in the football club should be a recruiter - for the first team and the academy," Beale told the Express & Star.

"In this instance it was Mozza. He is from where Mozza's from and he knows him, I think as a family friend. It's absolutely brilliant from Moz to get him in because he's a real find and good lad.

"So not only was Mozza a top-drawer player, he is a top recruiter! It came about through James Morrison's contacts up north."

Morrison returned to Albion staff under Steve Bruce as first-team coach and briefly had the role under Carlos Corberan before moving to a coaching role within the academy.

Crowther netted the killer third in Monday's win and duly enjoyed his celebration with a knee slide.

He started and finished the move with a real tenacity to win the ball before slipping a pass to striker Eseosa Sule. Sule hit the post before Crowther showed composure to neatly tuck in the rebound.

Beale hailed the youngster's attitude as a key attribute. He said:  "He played grassroots football. The biggest compliment I can give Matt is he has the most natural enthusiasm of any young lad I've probably ever met.

"I keep saying to him every day 'harness that, keep that enthusiasm'. I know that's very simple and sounds basic, however a load of boys who have been in an academy for a long time do not maintain that enthusiasm and work ethic, the stamina and motivation.

"He's been a real find and real plus point to the West Brom academy. He's another with real potential. His goal was fantastic, he strode on to a second ball, brushed off a player three or four years older, played a through ball, kept going and got his rewards.

"I'm really pleased for Matt. He runs further than anybody in the games and training and is developing nicely."