Chelsea’s aggressive attempts to sign West Bromwich Albion youngster Isaiah Brown have been turned down, as the latter claimed the offer to be disappointing for a midfielder who has been one of the most exciting prospects at the club.

Jose Mourinho is not only working behind the scenes to clinch the marquee signings, but also has an eye for the talents of tomorrow. The Portuguese manager is known to be a fan of Brown, and his development and level of performance at just 16-years of age has left the Blues officials astounded. Chelsea have been unable to nurture their academy products into players who eventually play consistently for the London based club, as seen in the case of Jeffrey Bruma, Franco Di Santo and Robert Huth. Ever since the club was bought by Roman Abramovich, they have depended on players purchased from elsewhere to bring success.

Brown is seen as a gifted player by West Brom, who regard him as one of the most talented prospects in their current youth setup. The midfielder joined West Brom as a youth academy player in 2010, and took less than three years to prove himself to the club coaches. He was rewarded handsomely for his impressive development as a youngster, when he was picked for first team squad by manager Steve Clark, and was brought onto the field as the second youngest player to have set foot into the Barclays Premier League. The 16-year old has also been picked for the England Under-17 squad, where he has made 3 appearances in 2012.

Premier League clubs invest a considerable amount of money and constant effort in youth development, and for clubs like West Brom, who are not backed by billionaire owners, it is unfortunate when bigger clubs like Chelsea come into the fray and lure these youngsters to move clubs at such tender ages by bigger contracts.

According to ESPN, West Brom have made a statement regarding Chelsea’s approach, and have vowed to take the matter to the tribunal if the Blues do manage to succeed in their attempts.

The statement read : “Albion have today rejected an offer from Chelsea for academy product Isaiah Brown,”

“Under Premier League rules the Baggies are due compensation from the London club for the 16-year-old midfielder, who has been at the Hawthorns for three years and had agreed to sign scholarship forms.”

The club’s sporting director Richard Garlick said, “We are disappointed by Chelsea’s offer.

“We have invested a lot of time and money in Isaiah’s development as a player and – as one of our most exciting academy products in recent years – we had hoped to bring him through into our first team.”

“But Chelsea have forced our hands and we are more than prepared for the matter to be decided by a tribunal if needs be.”

“More importantly, it makes you question why these young players are joining bigger clubs when they are likely to gain more first-team opportunities in the Barclays Premier League at clubs similar to us.”

This dispute between West Brom and Chelsea is a surprise given the fact that they just finished the Romelu Lukaku loan which seemingly went well for all parties. Leaving the politics and the dispute over compensation aside, Brown’s is the classic conundrum for a player – sign with the big name team for big money and mix with the big boys for a few days but most likely end up on loan and rarely get a look in at Chelsea (unless by some miracle he gets an opportunity in the 1st team and stays in it); or stay with West Brom and be a bigger fish in a smaller pond but the game time he needs and still work with a top coach in Steve Clark.

Hopefully, Chelsea can work out a deal where they do sign young Isaiah but make sure he gets the top notch coaching and game time he needs to develop then bring him to Stamford Bridge and give him a genuine opportunity to make the first team squad.