West Brom manager, Slaven Bilic, has stated that he was 'unhappy' with midfielder, Rekeem Harper, after the Carabao Cup defeat to Millwall.

Harper is just 19-years-old but has already featured a number of times for the Baggies' senior squad and signed a new three-year contract with the club in the summer.

West Brom have had a good start to the season and remain unbeaten in their opening six games, although Harper has appeared just once.

Bilic was not happy with the performances that Harper had put in, but since a chat with the player, the Croatian has seen a stark rise in the level of his training.

Speaking to Birmingham Live, Bilic said: "Rekeem Harper is training unbelievably well. At the beginning I wasn’t happy with him, I told him that. After Millwall in the cup, I had a chat with him.

“Since then, the numbers are saying - we like to get those numbers - that he’s training like crazy. He’s excellent in training, but at the moment it’s very difficult.

“His reaction was great and positive.

"I insisted that he stayed, because he was out of contract. I rate him extremely highly and I have had meetings with him and talks. He’s improving a lot since then, the quality was never in doubt, and he’s getting there."

The Verdict

Harper has shown great maturity despite his age to bounce back from some clearly stern words issued by boss Bilic.

That'll be some great signs of encouragement for the manager who was probably worried that he'd made a mistake after the youngster signed a new three-year deal in the summer.

It's clear his attitude isn't to be debated and the reaction that he showed Bilic in training will probably merit a place in his squad for the long-term future. It will always be difficult for young players who are in and out of the team, but he must keep working hard and he'll get his reward.