REKEEM Harper is looking forward to cutting his teeth in League One after signing for Rovers on a season-long loan deal.

The 17-year-old agreed the move to Ewood Park shortly after putting pen to paper on a two-year professional contract at The Hawthorns.

A highly-rated prospect, Harper made his Premier League debut for the Baggies earlier this month when he came off the bench against AFC Bournemouth.

Rovers boss Tony Mowbray a big admirer of the teenager, who has been a regular for West Brom’s youth sides.

He has also made two appearances for the senior team and is keen to continue his progression at Ewood Park.

“It is a massive club with a big history and I’m looking forward to showing everyone what I’m made of here,” Harper said.

“It was a crazy day. I signed a new deal with West Brom, then I travelled to Blackburn to meet the manager, see the training ground and the facilities here.

“The training ground speaks for itself, you can’t really turn that down - it is top quality.

“Back at West Brom I had a little taste of it, but now I’ve got to maintain it and keep getting my minutes so I can improve as a player and get that valuable experience.

“On a personal note, I just want to get as many games as possible and show people what I am made of.”

Rovers had hoped to bring in the midfielder earlier in the month, only to see Harper make his Premier League debut for the Baggies as a substitute against Bournemouth on August 12.

He followed that up with an outing in the Carabao Cup win over Accrington Stanley last week, before being allowed to make the move to East Lancashire.

The arrival in the West Midlands of Gareth Barry, and the capture of Grzegorz Krychowiak from PSG, paved the way for Harper to join Rovers.

He will add competition to the midfield ranks, with Richie Smallwood and Peter Whittingham having already been brought in by Mowbray so far this summer.

And Harper said he was more than happy to make the move.

He added: “I’m willing to go wherever to play football because at the end of the day that is what you want to be doing.

“It doesn’t matter about anything outside, it is showing why you deserve to be playing and why you enjoy doing it. So I’m looking forward to it.”

 On signing his first professional contract with the Baggies, he added: “I’m delighted. I’ve always dreamed of signing a pro deal. It’s a great feeling.

“I started with the Under-18 side and went on pre-season with them. Then I was thrown into the Premier League 2 group and did well.

“I always aim to keep pushing on and it’s working for me.

“I’m going to keep working hard.”