"The biggest difference" West Brom youth boss Richard Beale on youngsters' progress

Decisions are currently being made on whether professional contracts are offered to youngsters coming to an end of their two-year scholarship. It is understood a couple of youngsters have already been offered and agreed terms, with more talks to come.

Winger Tom Fellows, 20, has been the star emergence from the club’s academy this term and has become a key part of Corberan’s senior options. Other youngsters have sampled senior experience for the first time, including Fenton Herd, Layton Love, Akeel Higgins, Josh Shaw and Harry Whitwell. Others, Jovan Malcolm, Zac Ashworth, Ethan Ingram, Jamie Andrews, Caleb Taylor and Mo Faal have been out on important loans to EFL clubs.

“It was fantastic for those lads to be in and around it but they’ve got to want more and I know they want more,” Beale said. “They have to keep striving, fighting and scrapping because having a fleeting appearance in the FA Cup – there’s thousands of those players. There’s not many that go on to have the career with 100 or 200 appearances in the first team.

“The boys know that, they want that, they are working hard at that. The biggest difference is those that are consistent in their behaviours every single day. They are on time, running as hard as they can, working hard on and off the pitch.

“The ones at this age, who have gone all the way through the system, I’d say 90 per cent is because they don’t do, or can’t repeat, those good behaviours every single day to the top of their level and keep the stamina and motivation to hang around and do the right things to get your chance in the first team.”

Beale added on contract calls: “Some will get new contracts and some invariably don’t, that’s the nature of the game. We’ve worked with the lads and want as many to get contracts. The nature is not all will but it’s that time of year.”

The under-21s chief, who is coming to the end of his third season at the club, explained that the academy’s main mission is to produce a player to perform regularly at senior level. Beale is often hindered in under-21 fixtures with players out on loan and unavailable or those regularly involved in training with Corberan’s first team, limiting action in the youth sides.

Central defender Taylor, currently in League One with Bolton, is expected to play a regular role with the senior squad next term.

“Firstly I hope they can have the impact in the first team that’s being had this year,” said the youth coach. “Tom’s been a real emerging player and if you can get one per year, really emerging in and around it, performing and playing 20, 30 or 40 appearances like Tom, then you can say it’s working.

“Perhaps you can say the season before that was Taylor (Gardner-Hickman), if we can help the manager’s squad next year by getting one of our lads in or around it then that’s what we’re looking for. If there’s more then even better. It’s not easy, it’s a big jump, the boys know they’ve got to close the gap and are working hard every day to do that .

“That’s the marker and KPI, how many players can we get in the first team? It’s fantastic to see Tom doing such good things and long may that continue.”