One of the most intriguing things Slaven Bilic had to consider heading into Tuesday’s game against Preston North End was how he was going to replace Romaine Sawyers after his red card against Bristol City over the weekend.

Plenty had been made about the dilemma Bilic was facing, with Steve Madeley suggesting that it would be a straight shootout between Gareth Barry and Rekeem Harper for a starting spot.

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The journalist predicted that Harper would start this one due to Barry not being 100% fit, and he was right, the 19-year-old started – but he didn’t do very much to impress.

The teenager played the full 90 minutes against Preston, but despite the Baggies’ impressive 2-0 win, the youngster failed to make any real impact.

The youngster didn’t influence proceedings as much as he would have liked – he had just one shot, which was off target, and his only key pass during the game didn’t lead to an assist.

His defensive contribution wasn’t there either, making only one tackle and failing to make a single interception.

This was a golden opportunity for Harper to impress Bilic in his first league start of the season, but he failed to grasp his chance. With Barry waiting in the wings he may not get another shot to show the boss what he has to offer for a little while.

Sawyers’ suspension was a blow for West Brom, but on a personal level it was Harper’s chance to give the manager a bit of a selection headache. However, his rather ineffective outing has seen the midfielder blow his shot. It now remains to be seen if he’s handed another look-in.

In other news, one West Brom signing isn’t proving to be value for money.