'Modern day defender': Who is Noah DuPont - the West Brom youngster who continues to impress the Albion hierarchy
Ryan Mason was forced to turn to the club's academy on Boxing Day to fill his bench in the home defeat to Bristol City.
Mo Diomande, Kevin Mfuamba and Ollie Bostock were all on the bench for the defeat - but did not come in.
There was in fact four youngsters involved - but the third will be a little less well known to those Albion fans who do in fact keep an eye on the younger sides.
It was 18-year-old defender Noah DuPont who was named on the bench - with the defender making up the squad with Mason missing players through injury.
But who is DuPont, and could he be one for the future at Albion?
Hailing from Worcester, the defender has been with Albion since the age of just six, rising through the academy.
He played plenty of under 18s football at the age of just 16 back in the 2023/24 campaign.
He has turned heads in the academy, and has travelled with the first team this season before being named on the bench in the last two games. It came after he was handed his first professional deal back in April.
In addition to his club progress, he has made a bit of a name for himself on the international stage.
He made his national debut for New Zealand as a 16-year-old - and featured for the Kiwis at the under 17 World Cup in 2023 - before playing in friendlies this summer.
What have they said about him?
When DuPont signed his professional contract earlier this year - academy manager Richard Stevens outlined the qualities the defender has that will aid him in his development.
He said: "As a centre-half you need certain qualities, and Noah has those. He’s strong, competitive, has a good frame which will make him a really good, modern-day defender, and he’s shown he can cope against the levels above his age group.
"Training with the first team when they’ve needed players, playing for the 21s and particularly when they’ve competed in the National League Cup, he’s shown he can play against men and stand up to those challenges. The attributes he has will develop him into a good footballer and I believe our programme is going to help him do that."
