West Bromwich Albion's Romelu Lukaku has been lauded for the way that he performed during Saturday's 1-0 win over Reading by his manager Steve Clarke.
The Chelsea loanee scored the only goal of the game after the break to hand the Baggies all three points at the Hawthorns.
Discussing the Belgium international's display against the Royals, Clarke admitted that he was pleased to see the 19-year-old's efforts not go unrewarded.
"He did well on Saturday against two strong centre-backs," Clarke told reporters. "There were a few opportunities where with a better final ball we could have released him. He kept plugging away and in the end he got the reward his efforts deserved.
"It's an important season for him. He came to Stamford Bridge for big money but found it difficult to break into the team at Chelsea and one of the reasons for him to come here is to help him become a better player."
Lukaku has scored two Premier League goals for West Brom since joining from the Blues on loan this summer.
Liam Apicella
