West Brom manager Valerien Ismael believes Taylor Gardner-Hickman represents the benchmark the club want from young players after the defender signed a new four-and-a-half-year contract.
The academy graduate, who joined the Baggies as a seven-year-old, signed a new deal on his 20th birthday having made his first-team debut in the Carabao Cup against Arsenal in August.
“This is great news. Taylor is the beginning of the project from when I came in; to link the academy to the first team,” Ismael told the club’s website.
“We wanted to create a pathway and Taylor is the first player me and my staff have been able to bring through.
“We hope and we want more players to follow this pathway – but this is a great statement from Taylor with this commitment to the club.
“Now I am looking forward to working with him. It’s great news for everyone at the club.
“Taylor has shown already that he plays without fear, that he has a great attitude and mentality.
“He represents exactly what we want to see from young players. He’s hungry, he has desire, he’s fearless. He also has a lot of quality.”
‘Arteta, Alonso, Emery, me… none of us were physical players – we needed the understanding of the game. That probably helped us move into management’: Premier League boss reveals reasons for natural career progression
‘England have the players to win the World Cup – it’ll be tough for Thomas Tuchel to do a bad job, with the squad he has at his disposal’ Former Three Lions winger backs new boss after gentle qualifying draw
