Jamie Donley has played a major role in Leyton Orient's promotion push(Image: Kevin Hodgson/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
West Bromwich Albion are reportedly interested in young Tottenham Hotspur and Northern Ireland prospect Jamie Donley on a permanent deal for next season.
The 20-year-old attacking midfielder is currently on loan for Leyton Orient, who are vying for a place in the Championship, currently in the League One play-offs.
Donley has scored eight league goals and registered ten assists in 30 appearances for the Os this term, producing a string of eye-catching displays.
The latest reports suggest that the Baggies have made an early £1.5 million bid to his parent club, Spurs, to try to prise him away on a permanent deal. He still has two years on his contract with the North London outfit, and if they do not want to let him go permanently, the option of a season-long loan move is still on the table.
Born in the Northern Irish town of Antrim, Donley represented England and Northern Ireland at youth level but earned his first senior caps for his native country in March this year, playing in friendlies against Switzerland and Sweden.
The international call-up is proof of his rising prominence as a result of his loan move to Orient, his first experience of men’s football coming out of Tottenham’s academy, where he has shown his true ability.
Donley told [BBC](https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/all-about/bbc) Radio London in March: “I want to play in these games. I want to show everyone what I can do. People say to go out and explore men’s football instead of just playing under-21s football, and now I’m at this stage, I’m glad I’ve gone and done that.
“I’ve obviously had the down moment in my career where I wasn’t playing and getting in the squad, but I’ve come out of the other side.
“Now I’m doing well – I’m playing lots of minutes and it’s coming out as a successful loan for me. Coming from Tottenham, everyone expects you to be this amazing player and just to hit the ground running straight away, but it’s not that easy coming in as my first loan in men’s football.
“The gaffer always told me he knows the quality I have, and it’s just about showing that. Luckily, I’ve shown that over the last few months.”
One thing that will not help Albion’s case with wrapping up any transfers this early in the off-season is that they are currently without a head coach, having dismissed Tony Mowbray over three weeks ago.
They are after young Spurs talent for the squad and potentially for the managerial vacancy. First-team coach Ryan Mason is one of the favourites to take over from Mowbray, along with Portsmouth’s John Mousinho and Minnesota United’s Eric Ramsay.
Potential incomings will want to know who they will be playing under before they commit to the club, so it is important to West Brom’s early transfer prospects that they conclude their head coach search as soon as possible.