Castro made a bold claim at the start of his time at Albion, but he failed to follow through.
In the summer of 2021, West Bromwich Albion signed Quevin Castro, who appeared to be a promising player.
After a successful trial, the midfielder was offered a two-year contract, allowing him to make an impact at The Hawthorns despite its short duration.
He was 19 when he arrived in the Midlands, so he still had plenty of room to improve and grow.
However, given his previous experience in non-league football, the midfielder was always going to struggle to settle in and contribute to the first team right away.
Before joining Albion, he had no EFL experience, but he was one of Valerien Ismael’s few options in the middle, alongside Jake Livermore, Alex Mowatt, Robert Snodgrass, and Jason Molumby.
Quevin Castro’s “stepping stone” comments after joining West Brom
Castro, at the age of 19, had signed for a Championship club and showed promise, but his comments to the media may have surprised some.
Shortly after joining The Hawthorns, he told the Suffolk News that the team’s style of play will bring out the best in him.
“I just need to be able to play to the expectations, and hopefully I’ll get the opportunity to prove myself to everyone. I never doubt myself.
“For me, this is a stepping stone toward my goal of becoming one of the world’s best players. And I’m sure I will be.”
These comments put a lot of pressure on the midfielder, who needed to make an immediate impact at Albion if he wanted to have a chance of becoming one of the best players in world football.
Quevin Castro’s time at West Brom
Castro may have expected to play in a respectable number of games after signing in the summer, even if he wouldn’t start most of them because others were ahead of him in the pecking order.
In early 2021/22, he started against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup.
He showed promise against the Gunners, but was booked early on. He needed more game time to adapt to senior football.
West Bromwich Albion will still be reeling from the £8 million signing of Kenneth Zohore from Cardiff City.
However, he struggled to find playing time, featuring heavily in Albion’s academy but making only two second-tier appearances during the 2021/22 season.
Last season, he went out on loan to Burton Albion, but it didn’t work out well, so he dropped down to the fifth tier to ply his trade for then-promotion challengers Notts County.
He did not perform poorly under Luke Williams, scoring four goals in 14 appearances, but he was unable to build on that during another loan spell at Gateshead in the second half of 2022/23.
With this in mind, and the fact that Albion had signed some excellent midfielders in the summer of 2022, including Molumby (permanently), John Swift, and Okay Yokuslu, it’s no surprise Castro was there last summer.
| Quevin Castro’s time at West Brom (2021-2023) | |
|---|---|
| [All competitions] | |
| West Brom (senior team only) | 3 |
| Burton Albion (loan spell) | 5 |
| Notts County (loan spell) | 14 |
| Gateshead (loan spell) | 1 |
| Total number of appearances: | 23 |
Where is Quevin Castro now?
Unfortunately, Castro has returned to non-league football at the age of 22, which is a huge setback for the player given his ambition.
After his contract at The Hawthorns expired, he signed with National League side York City, but he has yet to establish himself as a key player there, making only 15 competitive appearances this season, the majority of which came from the bench.
During the season, he went on loan to King’s Lynn Town in the sixth tier.
At this point, it appears that he will struggle to return to the EFL in the near future.
The 22-year-old’s dream of becoming one of the world’s best players is unlikely to come true, but he should consider playing in the English Football League.
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