West Brom prospect Harry Whitwell 'shows he belongs' in 'dynamic' side
The youngster is making huge strides in the early weeks of the campaign.
Harry Whitwell has proven he belongs in a dynamic Albion attacking unit, reckons boss James Morrison.
Academy graduate Whitwell, 20, has been one of the big winners of pre-season and the early weeks of the campaign for the Baggies.
He added to a first goal for the club in the EFL Cup first round win at Rotherham with a first Championship goal in a full home league debut in Sunday’s thrilling 3-1 win over Burnley.
Morrison previously coached Whitwell in the youth ranks and the boss thinks the prospects now has a feeling of belonging as part of Albion’s new vibrant forward line.
“Yes (he’s making strides) - he's getting more confident the more time he's on the pitch,” Morrison said of Whitwell.
“He's continued the pre-season work that he did, he's got the belief now, he's proven that he belongs here.”
The head coach added: “I think there were times last year where I was going to put him in, but he got injured.
“Obviously I've known him for a long time, working in the academy with him. I know his attributes, and I think the system helps him.”
Whitwell is in the final year of his contract at The Hawthorns.
The attacker has been used on the right of Morrison’s midfield four, but spent a lot of time in the club’s academy as a central player.
A positive start to the campaign has seen Whitwell link well with fellow Baggies attackers Jimmy-Jay Morgan, also 20, and 22-year-old Isaac Price. Nolan Galves, behind Whitwell at right-back, is also front-footed and pacy.
“I loved it,” the head coach admitted. “I had a sense of the Ipswich game from last year.
“I could feel that atmosphere, the excitement for the first home game from last week (Norwich), through pre-season.
“And obviously it was (close to) a sell-out, so it shows that the fans are excited too. It was up to us to play a bit of attacking football, what gets the crowd excited.
“It’s dynamic, isn't it? They pay the money and they want to see exciting football, and I think they enjoyed both sides of the game.
“In the times we had to defend the box, we defended the box. But also doing the dirty work of tackling, running back, reactions to losing the ball, helping your team-mate. I was really pleased.”