“Stepping stone” comments came back to bite ex-West Brom player: View | OneFootball

West Bromwich Albion looked to have signed a potential hidden gem when they recruited Quevin Castro back in the summer of 2021.

Having impressed on trial, the midfielder was handed a two-year contract, a fairly short deal but a contract that was long enough for him to make an impact at The Hawthorns.

He was 19 at the time of his arrival in the Midlands - and that meant he had plenty of room to improve and grow.

But it was always going to be a challenge for the midfielder to settle in and be an asset for the first team straight away, having previously played non-league football.

Before joining Albion, he had no EFL experience under his belt, but he was one of few options in the middle for Valerien Ismael, along with Jake Livermore, Alex Mowatt, Robert Snodgrass and Jason Molumby.

Quevin Castro's "stepping stone" comments after joining West Brom

At just 19, Castro had signed for a Championship side and clearly had potential, but his comments to the media would have come as a surprise to some.

Speaking to the Suffolk News shortly after his arrival at The Hawthorns, he said: "The way we want to play this year is going to bring the best out of me.

"I’ve just got to be able to play to the expectations and hopefully I will get a chance to prove myself to everyone. I never doubt myself.

"For me this is a stepping stone really as my aim is to be one of the best players in the world. And I know I will be."

These comments put a lot of pressure on the midfielder, who needed to make an impact quickly at Albion if he wanted to have any chance of becoming one of the finest players in world football.

Quevin Castro's time at West Brom

Having been signed in the summer, Castro may have been expecting to appear in a respectable number of games, even if he wasn't going to start most games with others ahead of him in the pecking order.

During the early stages of the 2021/22 campaign, he had the opportunity to start against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup.

He did show some promise against the Gunners, but was booked early on and it was clear that he needed more game time in his quest to adapt to senior football.

But he found game time hard to come by, featuring heavily in Albion's academy but only making two second-tier appearances during the 2021/22 season.

Last season, he went out on loan to Burton Albion, but that didn't work out well and he was forced to drop down to the fifth tier to ply his trade for then-promotion challengers Notts County.

Scoring four goals in 14 appearances there, he didn't do the worst job under Luke Williams, but failed to build on that during another loan spell at Gateshead during the second half of 2022/23.

With this in mind, and the fact Albion had recruited some excellent midfielders including Molumby (permanently), John Swift and Okay Yokuslu during the summer of 2022, it's no surprise that Castro was last summer.

Where Quevin Castro is now

Unfortunately, Castro is a non-league football again at 22 and considering how ambitious he is, that is a massive blow for the player.

Signing with National League side York City following the expiration of his contract at The Hawthorns, he hasn't even been able to establish himself as a key player there, making 15 competitive appearances for them this term with plenty of those displays coming from the bench.

During the season, he dropped down to the sixth tier to join King's Lynn Town on a brief loan spell.

At this point, it looks like it's going to be a tricky task for him to get back to the EFL anytime soon.

The 22-year-old probably won't achieve his ambition to be one of the world's best players, but he should be looking to play EFL football in the future.