Young duo head to Austria with West Brom

Whizzkids Jonathan Leko and Tyler Roberts today travelled to Austria with West Brom as boss Tony Pulis handed the 16-year-old duo a chance to join the first-team.

The pair were included in the travelling party for the eight-day training camp in the Austrian Alps.

Hawthorns insiders insist they could force their way into the Premier League squad this season.

The pair, who staff at the Baggies academy rate as their most talented youngsters ever, are among a group of six youth-team players joining Pulis's squad on the trip.

Centre-backs Shaun Donnellan, aged 19, and Jack Fitzwater, 17, were in the travelling party along with midfielder Joe Ward and striker Tahvon Campbell, both 18.

Former academy star Adil Nabi was also due to be on the plane, but younger brother Samir is ruled out through injury.

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Pulis was set to make a decision shortly before the squad departed on injured players like Saido Berahino. Ben Foster and Georgios Samaras.

But the likes of Cristian Gamboa and Sebastien Pocognoli were expected to travel, despite being frozen out by Pulis last season.

Leko, who arrived in England as a refugee from Congo as a child, has long been touted as a star of the future and travelled with the first-team several times last season, but never made a match-day squad.

Wide man Roberts was on the bench for the final Premier League game of last season at Arsenal and trained with the full Wales squad during the summer.

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Meanwhile, talks with Queens Park Rangers over winger Matt Phillips are understood to be progressing well.

The Baggies are also keen on Phillips' Loftus Road team-mate Charlie Austin and would be willing to break their transfer record to land the striker, with Liverpool's Rickie Lambert as a possible back-up.