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West Bromwich Albion midfielder Rekeem Harper would surely benefit from being allowed to leave The Hawthorns on a loan deal during the January transfer window after finding minutes hard to come by so far this term.

Harper, who enjoyed somewhat of breakthrough campaign last season, has not managed to build on that in the opening months of this term, with the 19-year-old managing to make just one league appearance so far for Slaven Bilic's side.

The Baggies have strong competition in midfield with the likes of Jake Livermore, Romaine Sawyers, Filip Krovinovic and Matheus Pereira all performing well for West Brom across midfield so far, which has made it a very difficult challenge for Harper to force his way into the starting XI.

Even though Bilic has demonstrated that he is willing to put his faith in the club's young prospects so far this season, with the likes of Nathan Ferguson and Kyle Edwards both featuring regularly for the Baggies, the options he has available to him in midfield mean it is difficult for him to give any regular game time to Harper.

So, the best option for Albion could be to look to find a suitable destination to loan the youngster out to for the rest of the season in January.

The promising 19-year-old likely to attract attention from clubs lower down in the Championship table or in League One - and it is vital that they find a team who can give him regular first team minutes if they do opt to loan him out.

As West Brom have already demonstrated with loaning out Jonathan Leko and Sam Field to fellow Championship club Charlton Athletic, a loan move can be an excellent way to allow their younger players time to develop as part of a competitive side.

Therefore, Bilic and West Brom will probably be willing to let Harper depart, and it would then be up to the 19-year-old to re-find the type of form he was displaying for the Baggies at times last season.

If he can manage that, the teenager would put himself in a good position to come back an compete for his place at the start of next season.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.