Aston Villa have announced the signing of former West Brom midfielder Finley Thorndike.
The Lowdown: Thorndike profiled
Thorndike is 19 years of age and left the Baggies back in July. Primarily an attacking midfielder who can also play as a left winger, he has been training with Villa after becoming a free agent.
The youngster is represented by ICM Stellar Sports – the same agency as Villa’s Ezri Konsa and Jed Steer.
He has been described as a ‘creative’ midfielder by academy manager Mark Harrison and has now penned terms at Bodymoor Heath.
The Latest: Villa deal
Villa announced on Friday that Thorndike has signed a contract with the club after performing well for the under-23s.
The attacking midfielder has played four times for the under-23s, both in Premier League 2 and the Papa John’s Trophy.
The Verdict: Latest West Brom recruit
Thorndike becomes the third youth player to have signed for Villa after leaving West Brom in a matter of months.
He has joined Tim Iroegbunam and Finn Azaz in swapping the Baggies for the Villans, and hopefully over time West Brom’s loss will be Villa’s gain.
The club have recently shipped out a number of their youngsters on loan to gain first team experience, so it’s good to see the likes of new signings Thorndike, Iroegbunam and Caleb Chukwuemeka coming in over the summer.
In other news: Gregg Evans claims that Johan Lange wants Dean Smith to give £48k-p/w man a chance at Villa Park.