West Bromwich Albion boss Roy Hodgson is convinced of big things from George Thorne.
Hodgson believes he has the potential to challenge for a place in the middle of the park at The Hawthorns.
"I think he did very well at the end of last season," the Baggies boss told the club's website.
"He attracted my attention when I was here. He wasn't in the first-team squad when I came, James Hurst was, but he caught my eye and on the odd occasion he worked with the first team I was impressed with him.
"He had a very good end to the season.
"He played at Newcastle and helped to turn the game around for us.
"I reluctantly asked the England people if they wouldn't mind letting him out of it because for him this pre-season is a great opportunity for him to build on what he did last year and to really knock on the door of the first team and give me a headache about who I should play at the start of the season.
"I was worried if he went away with England, we wouldn't have seen him until almost the start of the season and that would have meant him playing catch-up and not really having a fair crack of the whip in terms of proving to me he is better than some of the ones we have got in the team already."
