Who is Matthew Crowther? James Morrison’s north-east find handed West Brom start | OneFootball

Matthew Crowther, the academy midfielder identified by James Morrison, was handed a West Brom start in the 3-0 behind-closed-doors win over Sheffield Wednesday. According to ExpressAndStar.com, the teenager featured from the off on Saturday.

Albion opened pre-season with that victory as Morrison used two different line-ups and 22 players. Crowther played the first 45 minutes. It was 2-0 at half-time through Krystian Bielik and Jimmy-Jay Morgan.

Crowther was one of five academy starters, with only he and defender Jamal Mohammed yet to make a senior debut. He does not turn 19 until December and was the youngest and least experienced. He has since travelled with the first team on tour in Portugal.

The left-footed midfielder from Sunderland was spotted by Morrison during 2023/24 while he worked in the academy. A family connection, his grandmother is close to Morrison’s mum, helped bring him to Albion three years ago at under-16 level.

Before moving south he played Sunday league for Silksworth CW Juniors. He signed a scholarship that summer and quickly progressed from under-18s to the under-21s under Richard Beale, scoring at The Hawthorns aged 16.

He was named academy player of the season in summer 2024 and helped the under-18s reach an FA Youth Cup quarter-final. A first professional deal arrived 12 months ago, running until next summer. Last season he made 12 Premier League 2 appearances, five in domestic cups and featured in the Premier League International Cup, before injury kept him out from before Christmas to March.

Source: ExpressAndStar.com