Who is Matthew Crowther? Academy award-winner given West Brom start by James Morrison | OneFootball

Matty Crowther started as West Brom opened pre-season, the academy midfielder handed a chance by head coach James Morrison. The teenager is with the senior squad on tour in Portugal.

Albion beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 behind closed doors on Saturday. According to ExpressAndStar.com, Morrison used 22 players, including several academy products.

Crowther played the first 45 minutes and Albion led 2-0 at the break through Krystian Bielik and Jimmy-Jay Morgan. He was one of five academy starters, with only he and defender Jamal Mohammed yet to make a senior debut.

Left-footed and from Sunderland, he was the youngest involved and least familiar around the first team. He joined three years ago after a family link to Morrison led to a trial from Sunday league side Silksworth CW Juniors.

He signed a scholarship that summer, rose from under-18s to Richard Beale’s under-21s, and scored at The Hawthorns aged 16. He helped the under-18s reach the FA Youth Cup quarter-final and was academy player of the season in 2024.

He signed his first professional deal 12 months ago, running until next summer. Last season he made 12 league and five cup outings for the under-21s, before and after an injury lay-off from before Christmas to March.

Beale praised Morrison for unearthing a real find, highlighting Crowther’s work rate and a surging under-21 goal. Morrison later detailed the family link, said Crowther is focused and still developing, and noted talent can emerge outside academies if a manager takes a shine.

Source: ExpressAndStar.com