“I think his time at WBA is well and truly over” – 26-year-old’s future at West Brom: The verdict | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

West Bromwich Albion opted to engage in a reasonable amount of transfer activity during the previous summer transfer window.

As well as securing the services of the likes of Jed Wallace, John Swift and Okay Yokuslu, Albion also sanctioned a number of departures.

One of the individuals who was allowed to leave the Baggies on a temporary basis was Cedric Kipre who sealed a move to Cardiff City.

The defender has gone on to feature on 31 occasions for the Bluebirds in the Championship this season and is scheduled to return to The Hawthorns when his loan deal expires at the end of May.

With the transfer window set to reopen following the conclusion of the 2022/23 campaign, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for Kipre.

Here, three of our FLW writers have offered their thoughts on whether Kipre has a future at West Brom.

Simmey Hannifin-Donaldson

“If I’m being honest I don’t see a future for Kipre at West Brom.

“When he returns from Cardiff this summer, he will have just one year left on his current contract.

“Rather than keep him around for that year or seek to extend his stay, I think Albion will look to cash in and make some money from his transfer whilst they still can.

“I do think Kipre could do a job in the Baggies squad, but I think the prospect of getting some cash for him this summer will encourage the club to sell.”

Toby Wilding

“I think his time at WBA is well and truly over.

“He’s contracted to the club until the summer of 2024 but considering none of the Baggies’ multiple managers since he has been at the club have really given him a chance, there’s nothing to suggest that Carlos Corberan will change that this summer.

“West Brom’s centre-back options as a whole aren’t exactly the strongest, but they can definitely recruit better than most of what they’ve got whichever division they’re in for 2023-24.

“I do think though that Kipre may have found a potential new permanent home at Cardiff – he seems to be well-liked there despite being part of a defence that is around the relegation zone, so I could see Albion trying to strike a deal this summer with the Bluebirds.”

Josh Cole

“When you consider that West Brom did not include a recall clause in Kipre’s loan agreement with Cardiff, head coach Corberan was unable to bring him back to the club during the January transfer window.

“The Spaniard is likely to stamp his own authority on Albion’s squad this summer ahead of his first full season in charge and thus will need to make a clear call on Kipre’s future.

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“Although Cardiff have struggled in the Championship this season, Kipre has still managed to produce some assured performances at this level as he is currently averaging a respectable WhoScored match rating of 6.75 which has only been bettered by three of his team-mates.

“Still only 26-years-old, the defender has plenty of time left in his career to develop into a classy operator and thus Corberan should look to hand him a chance to showcase his talent in pre-season.

“If Kipre goes on to impress, West Brom should retain his services for the remainder of the year as they aim to achieve a relative amount of success with Corberan at the helm.”