West Brom mull Rayhaan Tulloch loan move

The promising forward joined Doncaster on a temporary basis at the beginning of last season.

But he suffered a serious hamstring injury in only his second game – with that issue ruling him out of the rest of the of 2020/21 campaign.

After getting himself back fit, Tulloch impressed Ismael with some positive performances during pre-season only to then pick up a groin strain. Now he is fit again. And Ismael admits he is yet to make a decision as to whether Tulloch should go out on loan or stay with the under-23s as he works to get match sharp.

“We will assess the situation,” Ismael said when asked if he could send Tulloch or any of his other promising players out on loan next month. We will look at how the first six months have gone with the young players. Ray was a long time injured, he is the one it makes more sense to play with consistency – with the 23s, or it makes more sense to get a move. We will see.

“Now we must give him time, to get his fitness and his confidence, with a smile on his face. That’s important for young players.

“When the time is right we will make the right decision.”

Ismael recently promoted Taylor Gardner-Hickman from the under-23s to Albion’s first team.

He says Tulloch is another player with the potential to step up. But at the moment, working on his fitness has to be the number one aim for the 20-year-old.

“Rayhaan is, for sure one of those (high potential) players,” Ismael added. “But at the minute it’s more about getting the confidence back in his body, to train with consistency, to play with consistency, and the 23s are there to give him the possibility to play.

“We will see how the improvement is week after week.

“We will have that feeling, we got that feeling with Taylor (Gardner-Hickman), we knew he was ready.

“And we will know when he (Tulloch) is more ready for a chance, but I think it’s too early, to say when the time is for him.

“He needs to play with more consistency, to be stable, trust his body and make sure he can play and train with consistency over many, many weeks.”