Who Is This Chelsea Defender That West Brom Have Lured In On Deadline Day? Everything You Need To Know

Scout Report – Kyle Jameson

Amidst all the furore of acquiring Grzegorz Krychowiak and Kieran Gibbs, West Bromwich Albion went on to complete another signing that went under the radar. The Baggies have signed youngster Kyle Jameson from Chelsea on a one-year deal with an option to extend it by another year.

The 18-year old defender is expected to join up with the West Brom reserves’ side in the Premier League 2 for the new season. Upon completing the move, the teenage centre-half, speaking to the Baggies’ official website, said (as quoted by the Mirror):

“I’m delighted. I did a bit of research and this is a wonderful club. I’ve already played a couple of games and enjoyed it. Once we start working together as a team then we’ll start winning matches.” 

Here we take a closer look at the Baggies’ latest youth recruit and what he would offer to the club.

Footballing Background

Born in Urmston, England, on 11 September 1998, Jameson started off his footballing journey with the Everton academy. Despite showing plenty of promise in his formative years, the defender was released by the Toffees in 2011 at the age of 13.

After a spell out of the game, he returned to football with National League outfit Southport, where he impressed with the youth sides, ending up catching the attention of Chelsea. The Blues offered him a trial in December last year, and with manager Antonio Conte being impressed with the teenager, an 18-month deal was handed to the Englishman in January earlier this year. However, he played just five times for the Chelsea youth sides in the second half of the 2016/17 campaign, mainly because he was cup-tied for the FA Youth Cup.

He was handed a two-week trial with Scottish champions Celtic in July, and was later given a chance by West Brom. Jameson represented the Baggies’ reserves in two Premier League 2 outings against Newcastle United and Wolverhampton Wanderers in August. With the club impressed with what they saw, they decided to sign him up on a one-year deal, with an option to extend by another year if required.

Style Of Play

A predominantly left-sided centre-half, Jameson has also played as a left-back during his days with Southport, but he is best used as a centre-back.

Standing at 6ft 3in, his towering physical frame makes him a dominant presence at the back, despite his tender age of 18. Possessing a lanky frame, he has shown deceptive strength and also possesses good technical ability, which seemingly had impressed Conte.

What Does The Future Hold?

The teenager has shown signs of promise in his handful of appearances for Chelsea and his two games with the Baggies so far. He has the requisite skills needed to grow into a more than decent centre-back, and regular playing time with the reserves at West Brom should help him a great deal.