West Brom boss Jimmy Shan insists that his decision not to include Rekeem Harper in the squad against Aston Villa on Saturday was purely down to tactical reasons.

The 19-year-old midfielder has played 16 times for the Baggies in the league this season, including three full games at the end of the regular season. Going further back, only once in 2019 had the teenager not been selected in Albion's matchday squad.

Therefore, it was a major surprise to see him not involved and it sparked concerns that the supposed Tottenham target may be on his way out of the club considering his contract is up in the summer.

However, Shan told Birmingham Live that it was purely down to the more cautious approach that he wanted to take at Villa Park.

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"We came with a game plan to sit a bit deeper and be a bit more compact and maybe have more of a defensive head on. Can Rekeem do that? Of course. But there were other players in his position that I felt were better suited for that role and responsibility."

The youngster will hope to be involved tomorrow if that's the case as West Brom try to overturn a one-goal deficit from the play-off semi-final first leg.

The Verdict

This doesn't really add up from Shan. You can accept that reasoning as to why Harper didn't start but surely he'd be on the bench to change the game if it didn't go the way Albion hoped?

It's hard not to link this decision to his future but ultimately time will tell and if he's not involved tomorrow then many will presume the player is off.

His long-term future shouldn't matter though, Shan needs to pick a team that can beat Aston Villa and Harper will expect to feature at some stage.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.