Leigh Downing appointed new West Brom under-21s boss as Baggies promote from within
Albion long-serving youth coach Leigh Downing has been confirmed as the club's new under-21s boss.
Downing, 36, took charge of the club's under-18s in September 2022 in his role as lead under-18s professional development phase coach.
The promotion sees him replace Richard Beale as under-21s boss. Beale left the club earlier in the summer and was due to join Reading's senior ranks in League One but was offered the opportunity to return to Villa and was confirmed last week as under-18s lead coach.
New under-21s boss Downing is a former Baggies playing scholar whose time coaching in The Hawthorns youth ranks exceeds well over a decade and includes numerous roles.
He initially worked within the community and schools as a coaching initiative before having the opportunity to develop the club's futsal programme between 2010 and 2013.
Since then he has held a variety of coaching roles, including academy Coach, assistant foundation phase coach, lead foundation phase coach, assistant youth development phase coach, lead youth development phase coach and professional development phase coach.
Downing said: "This is a really proud moment in my career and Albion is a club that's been very good to me.
"The club like how I work, have seen the good relationships I've forged with the academy players, and I think we have the same beliefs in how we see youth development.
"We'll try to tie our work with the under-21s into how the head coach wants to play, so if our lads are asked to train with them, then they know what they're stepping into."
Albion did advertise the role externally but have opted for an internal appointment as Downing continues his pathway up the coaching ladder.
The new under-21s manager, with the technical title of senior professional development coach, is the nephew of former Wolves midfielder and Baggies assistant Keith Downing, who worked under Steve Clarke and briefly as caretaker boss in the 2013/14 season.
His younger brother Paul spent four seasons at Walsall until 2016 and had a stint at Kidderminster Harriers last term.
Downing led Albion's under-18s to the quarter-final of the FA Youth Cup last season. His first game in charge is against rivals Villa - with whom several former Baggies academy staff work including Jimmy Shan as under-21s boss - at Solihull Moors on Monday, August 25 (2pm).
