Liverpool and training with Alexander Isak - West Brom's new defender Carter Pinnington

West Brom have landed the signing of defender Carter Pinnington on a three-year deal.

The 19-year-old becomes the Baggies’ second signing of the summer following the £1.3million capture of Scottish forward Barney Stewart from Falkirk on Wednesday.

Pinnington will initially join Albion’s under-21s team, after they moved decisively to secure his signature amid interest from Crystal Palace.

Here is everything you need to know about the youngster - who has been tipped for a bright future.

Liverpool roots

The Wirral-born defender started his journey with Liverpool aged seven and grew up watching his heroes as a ball boy.

Pinnington featured 100 times for the Reds at youth level: 19 for the under-18s, 13 for the under-19s in the UEFA Youth League and 68 for the under-21s.

His only goal came in a 4-1 rout over German outfit Bayer Leverkusen in November 2024.

Although he has predominantly played as a centre-back, Pinnington has also been deployed at full-back and midfield at times.

Exposure to senior football has been limited, although he did figure nine times for the under-21s in the EFL Trophy - including in all four of the Reds’ fixtures as they reached the knockout stages for the first time in 2023.

The youngster also starred alongside notable names in the academy such as Lewis Koumas, Jayden Danns and teenage hotshot Rio Ngumoha.

Training with Alexander Isak

Pinnington never made his senior debut for Liverpool but he was named in the match day squad for a 3-0 defeat against Crystal Palace at Anfield in the Carabao Cup in October.

He also trained with the first team on a number of occasions. And he has spoken about his experience coming up against Alexander Isak in his first Liverpool training session following his £125million switch from Newcastle United last summer.

Last year, Pinnington told LFC TV: “That was an experience because you’re playing against arguably the best striker in the world, one of the best.

“In my games in the PL2, you’re not going to come up against a player whose near his level.

“If you find a way to stop him, I think you’ll have a better chance when it comes to the normal games.

“I wouldn’t say it was nerve-racking, I would say excitement really. The whole point of playing football your whole life is to play for the first team.”

International prospect

Pinnington has been capped for England at under-15, under-16 and under-18 level - featuring four times for the latter.

He made his debut for the under-18s in a 2-2 draw against Portugal in September 2024 and went on to face France, Sweden and Ukraine that year.

But Pinnington has also revealed that he is eligible to represent South Africa because his father was born there.

A decision over his international future has not yet been reached, but he has left his options open at this stage of his career.