Blackburn Rovers were the first of multiple sides to feel West Brom loan frustration | OneFootball

Midfielder Rekeem Harper had some disappointing loan spells during his time at West Brom, starting with Blackburn Rovers.

It is fair to say midfielder Rekeem Harper has failed to live up to expectations after an exciting start to his career at West Bromwich Albion.

Harper joined West Brom at the age of 12, and after progressing through the academy into the first team, he made his senior debut for the club when he came on as a substitute in the 1-0 win over Bournemouth in the Premier League in August 2017.

It was a big show of faith from then manager Tony Pulis to give Harper his debut, and at the time, he became just the second player born after the year 2000 to play in the top flight, after Manchester United's Angel Gomes.

Harper's game time was always likely to be limited at such an early stage of his career, but in an attempt to secure his future, the Baggies tied him down to a new two-year contract before sending him out on loan to League One side Blackburn Rovers.

Blackburn had just been relegated to League One, but they were strongly fancied to make an immediate return to the Championship under manager Tony Mowbray, so it looked to be a good loan move for Harper.

Given Mowbray's strong reputation for developing young players, West Brom would have been confident that there would be no better manager for Harper to work under, and the 61-year-old was certainly pleased to welcome him to Ewood Park.

"He’s an exciting project, for us and for him I hope. He’s hopefully coming here to play some football and enjoy himself and show everyone his talent," Mowbray told the Lancashire Telegraph.

"I’m delighted that he’s here. I know he will light up the training ground with his personality and his enthusiasm, he’s a very humble boy but hugely talented and I’m looking forward to seeing how he integrates in to the group."

Unfortunately for Mowbray, the signing did not quite work out the way he had hoped, and Harper made just nine appearances in all competitions for Rovers, with just four of those coming in the league.

With one of the best squads in the division at his disposal, Mowbray frequently left Harper out of the matchday squad altogether, and the red card he received in the 3-3 home draw against Crewe Alexandra in the FA Cup would not have helped his case for more minutes.

Harper was recalled by Albion in January as new manager Alan Pardew was keen to assess the club's young players following his arrival, and although he was unable to break into the team as the Baggies suffered relegation from the Premier League, his fortunes changed in the Championship under Darren Moore.

The midfielder scored one goal and provided one assist in 23 appearances during the 2018-19 campaign to help West Brom secure a fourth-placed finish in the second tier, and he was named as the club's Young Player of the Year.

In an indication of just how highly Harper was rated, he was linked with Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Juventus in the summer of 2019, but he instead signed a new three-year deal at The Hawthorns.

However, Harper may now regret his decision to stay with Albion as it was not long before he was sent out on loan again, and he experienced similar frustrations to his time at Blackburn.

Birmingham City and Ipswich Town will share Rekeem Harper feelings

With his game time restricted at West Brom, Harper made the move across the Midlands to join Birmingham City in January 2021, and he made 18 appearances to help Lee Bowyer's side avoid relegation from the Championship.

11 of Harper's 18 appearances for the Blues came from the start, but he fell out of favour under Bowyer, with only four of his starts coming after the 47-year-old replaced Aitor Karanka in March, suggesting that he struggled to maintain the promising early form he showed at St Andrew's.

However, Harper clearly did enough to convince Ipswich Town to pay a reported fee of £500,000 to sign him permanently in June 2021, and he became one of 19 summer signings as Paul Cook overhauled his squad.

It was a significant investment for a League One club to make in a player, but just like at Birmingham, he lost his place in the team after initially being a regular for the Tractor Boys, albeit he was far from the only player to underperform under Cook.

Harper made a temporary move to Crewe Alexandra in January 2022 before spending the 2022-23 season out on loan at Exeter City, and his contract at Ipswich was terminated by mutual consent last summer after making just 19 appearances during his two-year spell at Portman Road.

After a disappointing stint at Burton Albion, Harper joined League Two promotion contenders Port Vale on a free transfer in November, but he was sent off on his first league start for the club in the 1-1 draw against former club Crewe.

It is not the start to life at Vale Park that Harper would have dreamed of, but after being reunited with his ex-West Brom manager Moore, he will be hopeful that he can get his career back on track with the Valiants.