West Brom captain Jed Wallace praises impact of academy graduates

A handful of academy graduates have been given minutes on the pitch in pre-season, and have been involved in the squads for the opening league game and EFL Cup clash at Stoke City.

And the new skipper Wallace has been impressed by their impact, adding that Malcolm has an 'unpredictability' to his game.

Speaking in the match day programme ahead of the clash with Swansea City, Wallace explained: "It's important the club continue to identify with those in the academy because you look at our group now, there's Caleb, Palms, Taylor, Josh, Tom, Jovan's in and around it and there needs to be a conveyor belt like that there.

"Under this manager you're going to improve as a player, and I've made no secret that I'm a big fan of Jovan.

"I love his attitude and for me he has the perfect balance because he takes everything on board, me and Matty Phillips try and help where we can and he's hungry to do well here.

"There's an unpredictability to his game that I really like, but, more importantly, the young boys are really nice lads.

"People would say it's easy enough for us to say that, but they are and it's a pleasure to have them with us everyday because their attitude is fantastic."

Aside from the academy graduates, Albion have a handful of other young players in the squad, including Jayson Molumby and Brandon Thomas-Asante, while Josh Maja has added to that group following his arrival.

Wallace added: "We've got a mix in that middle bracket too like Josh Maja, Jayson, Brandon who really want to push on in their careers.

"But first and foremost, we've got a fantastic manager who we're all behind and we feel really hopeful."