Albion to loan young guns

Albion young guns Graham Dorrans and Joss Labadie could leave on loan at the start of the season.

The young duo both figured last night as the Baggies players got their first public workout of pre-season at Kidderminster. Both will stay with Tony Mowbray’s squad throughout pre-season.

The Albion boss is already mulling over loan options for 21-year-old winger Dorrans, a summer signing from Livingston, and 17-year-old homegrown midfielder Labadie, who penned his first professional contract yesterday.

He said: “Graham is a young boy who is excited about being here. He is jumping from Livingston in the Scottish First Division to come to the Premier League.

“It’s a huge step. My expectation is that he comes through pre-season with us and gets used to the demands here.

“Then, if he does well enough in some of the games, he might go out on loan to play some football.

“If not, he’ll play in our reserves against some top Premier League reserve teams and develop that way.

“He’s hopefully one of a few of that type, young players that are not quite ready yet and don’t have the experience but have the talent.

“We can help them develop that so they will be good enough in the future to be a Premier League player.

“We’ve given Joss the opportunity to progress because he’s nowhere near the finished article yet.

Academy coach Michael Appleton, who has helped nurture young professional Labadie, has hinted the 17-year-old could fall into the category of potential loanees.

He said: “This is a big year for him and he knows there are certain things he needs to work on.

“He retains the ball really well and now he needs to improve what he does when he uses it.

“I’m not sure if this is a year where he’ll play every week in the reserves and is outstanding, or one where he’ll go out on loan.

“Attitude-wise Joss is different class and very level-headed. He’s a good professional, gets on with his job and trains really well.

“He’s the one player that stood out from the bunch last season. He is really strong for his age and stands out physically.

“To go with that he has a nice feel for the ball and has soft feet for such a big lad.”

Dorrans has already played down talk of a loan move back to Scotland as he settles into life south of the border.

He admits he may have to consider going on loan if Mowbray deems it good for his education.

“I’ve not spoken to the gaffer yet but if that is his plan then I’ll go along with it.

“We’ll have to see how I do in pre-season training and the games.

“If the gaffer wants me to go out on loan to get first-team action that we will sit down and talk about it.”

Dorrans completed his move to The Hawthorns last week after the £150,000 transfer was agreed in January.

The boyhood Rangers fan insists he had no second thoughts about joining Albion, despite rumoured interest from the Old Firm clubs.

He said: “In Scotland I was a Rangers fan. When I was a kid Paul Gascoigne played for Rangers and I looked up to people like that.

“I used to go to a hell of a lot of Rangers games when I was younger before I started at Livingston.

“There was talk of them being interested but I have always wanted to come down here, even though I was a Rangers fan.

“This is the best league in the world so given the chance I had to take it.”