West Brom Opinion: Baggies should try and beat Norwich in the race to sign Vincent Thill
According to claims from French football website Soccer Link, as cited by Eastern Daily Press, newly-promoted club Norwich City and Championship outfit West Brom have been credited with an interest in Luxembourgish attacking midfielder Vincent Thill.
Currently registered with French Ligue 2 side Metz, Thill spent this past season on loan at Pau FC in the Championnat National, the third tier of French football, where he caught the eye with 10 goals and 3 assists in 25 appearances.
Eastern Daily Press understands that both Norwich and West Brom are keen to add more competition and quality to their development squad and have identified Thill as a possible target for the summer.
The 19-year-old, however, has made it clear that he wants to focus on his development at his current club amidst interest from the Premier League and Championship.
Thill started playing football for the youth sides of CS Fola Esch and Niederkorn back in Luxembourg before moving across the continent to join French top-tier side Metz in the summer of 2016. The talented youngster was rumoured to be a target for Bayern Munich but he chose to join Metz in order to further his development closer to his homeland. (h/t Eastern Daily Press)
The 19-year-old made his Ligue 1 debut for Metz in the 2016-17 season and made another substitute appearance in the following campaign before being loaned out to third-tier side Pau FC last summer upon Metz’s relegation to Ligue 2. Thill has caught the eye with his consistently impressive performances on loan at Pau FC and that might as well earn him a prize move to English football this summer.
Although Thill has shone in the lower divisions of French football this season, the 19-year-old has a wonderful profile for a player of his age. He is already a full-fledged international for Luxembourg, having represented his nation on 21 occasions at the senior level.
The midfielder featured for Luxembourg in the UEFA Nations League last year and he is very much an integral part of their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.
Essentially a central attacking midfielder by trade, Vincent Thill is an elegant left-footed creative playmaker, who is noted for his good turn of pace, technical abilities on the ball, flair, sharpness and agility.
The 18-year-old is also capable of playing out wide on the right due to his left-footed nature and in a more withdrawn role as a central midfielder, owing to his good range of passing.
To put things into perspective, Vincent Thill is not the finished article by any means and he is still very much in the developmental stages of his career but the prospect of honing his skills in English football should appeal to the player.
He would be a good signing for both Norwich and West Brom but a move to the Hawthorns could guarantee him more first-team opportunities, given that the Baggies would be playing in the Championship next term.
Even if a move materializes, Thill would probably go into the U-23 or the development squad at West Brom. Regarded as an incredibly talented player with loads of potential, Thill is certainly one for the future but he needs exposure at the highest level to work on the flaws in his game/
The acquisition of Thill would add a lot of competition to West Brom’s reserve side and one would expect him to make the step up in due course of time, given his talent and promise.
West Brom’s poor handling of youngsters like Rekeem Harper and Oliver Burke has drawn criticism but the Baggies need to focus on the development of young players in order to get back to the Premier League with a specific identity.
To Read More West Brom News, Click Here:- Latest West Brom News
All in all, Thill looks like a real talent and West Brom could have a future star on their hands should the Luxembourgish international go on to fulfil his promise at the Hawthorns.
