West Bromwich Albion have confirmed that Richard Stevens has been appointed as the club's new academy manager.

Stevens will join the Baggies in early October from Coventry City and his appointment is part of the complete restructure of the club's academy staff.

His recruitment follows the appointment of Michael Appleton as the club's under-23s manager and that of former Baggies shot-stopper Boaz Myhill as a goalkeeping coach for the academy.

Stevens arrives at the Hawthorns with a reputation for being able to develop talented young footballers and has helped develop the likes of Leicester City star James Maddison and Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson in his career.

West Brom have made a positive start to the season under head coach Slaven Bilic and extended their unbeaten run to seven league matches with a draw at Fulham at the weekend.

The Baggies are now the only team with an unbeaten record in the Championship and will be looking to continue their momentum in their next game against Huddersfield Town this weekend.

The Verdict

This could be a great appointment for the Baggies. West Brom have got some very talented young players on their books and someone like Stevens should be able to help get the best out of them and help them progress through to the first team.

The young players are the future of the football club and the fact that the club are focused on improving their academy shows great ambition.

Stevens may be able to help bring through the next generation of young players at the Hawthorns and some of the players that work under him could have bright futures ahead of them.