Former West Brom player speaks out on Hawthorns exit | OneFootball

Kieran Gibbs is enjoying life in the USA after upping sticks and leaving West Brom to join Inter Miami – and he’s told the What Bitcoin Did Podcast that he ‘wanted a new challenge’ after the Hawthorns and that he is now ‘really settled’ at his new side.

The defender is still only 32-years-old but has already decided to take on the MLS and so far he is holding his own. With 12 appearances and one goal so far, he is a fairly regular feature in the side, although the club are not currently in line to finish in the top seven.

Gibbs spent four years at West Brom and accumulated 100 appearances during that time, looking solid and being a mainstay in the team when he wasn’t sidelined.

Quiz: Has Karlan Grant ever scored a goal for West Brom at each of these 26 stadiums?

Before that, he played even more football with Arsenal. With over 200 games, he was a Premier League regular and certainly knew how to hold his own in a backline.

All his seasons of Premier League and EFL experience then have come in handy heading over to the MLS – and Gibbs has now admitted that at the time of his departure from West Brom, he was eager for a ‘new challenge.’

Speaking on the What Bitcoin Did Podcast, he said: “It came around quite quick in the end, moving here from England. When the pandemic hit, I just felt like I needed something completely new and different – a good challenge that would excite me.

“It’s a new club, great owners and a great city. I’m happy, I’m really settled here now.”

Gibbs then seems to be happy to have completed the move all the way from England to America. If he can establish himself as a first-team regular and emulate even some of the showings he did during his time at Arsenal and West Brom, then he is sure to also be a success in the USA.

The Verdict

Kieran Gibbs was down the pecking order at the Hawthorns, so the move was arguably the right one.

He is now playing more and is able to lend his experience in England to some of his American teammates and try and help Inter Miami claim a decent position in the MLS. Gibbs himself seems to be happy with the move.

For West Brom, the move did work out okay. They have fared well without him and are still in the middle of a push for promotion in the second tier.

There is every chance that he could certainly return to England perhaps one day, whether as a player or coach. For now though, the defender certainly seems to be enjoying his stay in the USA.