West Brom: Saido Berahino name-dropped as claim made over Reyes Cleary snubbing Baggies for Barnsley | OneFootball

Barnsley believe they can draw out the potential locked inside the young forward

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Despite being one of the best scorers for the club at youth level for a number of years, Reyes Cleary has finally left West Brom permanently - but it's to sign for a European giant like Borussia Dortmund who he was linked to as a teenager.

The young forward caught attention in underage football for his goalscoring, which led to 2021 transfer links to Dortmund and Arsenal, but has so far struggled slightly with the transition into the senior game.

He struggled to make an impact on loan at Walsall last term, but managed to fire six in 20 games for National League side Hartlepool - he has now agreed to a permanent switch to League One outfit Barnsley this summer, turning down a new contract at The Hawthorns in the process.

West Brom verdict issued on Reyes Cleary, Barnsley switch

Prior to the official announcement, we asked FLW's West Brom fan pundit, Callum Burgess, whether the Tykes have made a good move, but doubts have been cast over Cleary's ability to make an instant impact with Barnsley straight away.

There was also an expectation that Cleary would make a Saido Berahino-esque impact within the first-team following his success in his early years, but it never came to pass when it was all said and done.

Speaking to Football League World, Callum said: “There was, of course, a lot of hype surrounding Reyes Cleary when he was scoring lots of goals at Premier League 2 level with Albion's development side, so there were hopes that he’d be the next Albion youngster to break into the team, similar to how the likes of [Saido] Berahino had done years before him.

“But, unfortunately, that never really materialised.

“There was some hope this season when he was sent out on loan to Walsall, but he didn't really make much of an impact there and did do really well for Hartlepool in non-league, so I think Barnsley would be a good move for him.

“Whether or not he's at that level remains to be seen, and I don’t think that he'd be able to make an instant impact straight away, but he might be a case of a player going down the leagues, finding a home for himself, and then a bit of stability might be what he needs.

“I imagine he’ll be an impact player at Barnsley. I'm not too well aware of their striker situation.

“But I think that he’s definitely got some potential. He showed that he's got some quality on loan at Hartlepool and at Walsall. He was very unlucky to be joining them at the time that they signed Nathan Lowe, so it remains to be seen how well he would have done without such a good youngster there.

“But, hopefully, for his sake, he does do well at Barnsley and he shows that he's able to replicate some of the form that generated so much excitement around him at development level.”

Barnsley could prove an important move for Reyes Cleary's future

Having moved out wide in recent years from his earlier position as a centre-forward, Cleary is heading to Barnsley with little in the way of competition right now for the left-wing spot.

Cleary states that chose the club because of their faith in youth, and so will hope to get enough opportunity to show his worth on the pitch and, with a run of games, hopefully build up some form.

Although his loan spell with Hartlepool was at a lower level in the National League, he did at least show that he has the ability to get goals when given enough time in the first team; he’ll hope to carry some of the momentum through to his new side.

It never seemed destined to work out with West Brom, but Barnsley could prove the ideal destination for Cleary to finally realise his potential.