West Brom emerged victorious from Birmingham City’s £1 million deal: Look at

Both West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City are headquartered in and around the second city, and they have a long-standing rivalry.

Along with Aston Villa, they are two of the three teams that compete in the West Midlands derby.

Over the past fifteen years, the two teams have alternated between the Championship and the Premier League, with West Brom having the better record.

Over the years, both sides have shared a number of players, although few, particularly in recent years, have ever switched to the other team.

But after it has occurred, the selling team will be aiming to come out on top, particularly if it makes their competitors more difficult to work with in the future.

Jonathan Leko is the first player that immediately springs to mind.

Leko is expected to do well at the Hawthorns

Leko, who joined West Brom at the age of eleven, had gone through the academy there.

He was well-regarded during his junior career, and by the time he reached the U14 level, Baggies academy manager Mark Harrison claimed he had demonstrated both a grasp of the game and a great deal of creative ability.

The 16-year-old kid made such an impression that the team invited him to participate in their 2015 preseason tour, and he even got to play in a game.

He would go on to make his Premier League and first team debuts in the 15–16 season. He would also be the first player to start a Premier League match who was born in 1999. He was going to sign his first professional deal at the end of the season.

The next season, he made nine appearances in the Premier League before being loaned out to Bristol City in the Championship in 17/18. However, in January 2018, following 11 goalless games, he was called up again.

His West Brom career was coming to an end. In 18/19, he would only make three trips to the Championship with the Baggies.

After that, he signed a loan with Charlton Athletic for the 2019–20 campaign, but he was sidelined for the entire year due to an ACL injury he sustained shortly before Christmas.

This marked the end of his career at West Brom, as in August 2020 he signed a contract to join Midland rivals Birmingham City for an alleged £1 million.

Deal in Birmingham did not go as expected.

Leko’s time at the Blues did not go as many would have hoped.

His first season at St Andrew’s would end without a goal or an assist in 34 games. From there on his time at Birmingham got worse.

The next season he would then be shipped out on loan, rejoining Charlton, now in League One. He would score three goals in 30 appearances for the Addicks.

After a mediocre loan with Charlton, he would return to Birmingham, making eight substitute appearances before moving permanently to MK Dons for an undisclosed fee.

Heartbreak due to injuries halted what appeared to be a good start for West Brom. Birmingham then made a huge risk by investing £1 million in Leko, but in the end it didn’t work out.

Admittedly, West Brom most certainly had the last laugh.

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