West Bromwich Albion are considering a permanent move for loanee Chris Willock in January, even though he’s yet to feature for their first team.

Chris Willock is the brother of Arsenal’s Joe, and he spent his entire youth career with the Gunners before joining Benfica in 2017.

Willock struggled to break into the Portuguese club’s side, despite playing regularly for their B-team, so he went on loan to West Brom this summer. So far, that loan spell still hasn’t resulted in any first-team opportunities.

The winger has made seven appearances for the West Brom u23s, scoring three goals and assisting four, but the closest he’s come to senior minutes was making the bench in the League Cup against Millwall.

All the same, the Express and Star report West Brom are considering making the loan permanent in January. They reportedly have the option to do so for a “reasonable fee”, and the club see him as a player with real potential.

Given he has as many goal contributions as games played in u23 football, you’d think that would lead to a first-team chance eventually. The problem is simply that West Brom are doing so well, leading the Championship after 16 games.

It’s always tough to break into a team performing well without any relevant injuries, but that’s sure to change at some point in the season. Willock just needs to take his chance when it comes.