"A massive blow" - Claim made as West Brom star heads for Hawthorns exit to Ipswich Town | OneFootball

FLW's Baggies pundit has his say on West Brom's transfer business this January.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

West Brom fans had to wait right until the very end of the window, but they did finally get the additions they were hoping for.

The Baggies moved quickly in the final few days of the window to bring in attacking midfielder Tammer Bany from Danish Superliga side Randers, as well as loan deals for Will Lankshear from Tottenham and Adam Armstrong from Southampton.

There was, however, a notable outgoing on deadline day, with first-choice goalkeeper Alex Palmer leaving The Hawthorns to join Premier League side Ipswich Town for an undisclosed fee.

Tony Mowbray’s side are handily placed at the minute, clinging on to that crucial final play-off spot. However, they can expect to come under fire from potentially as many as seven other clubs for that spot, in what is shaping up to be an incredible race for the Championship’s post-season.

West Brom will have regrets surrounding Alex Palmer

The deals for frontmen Lankshear and Armstrong were particularly important considering the fact that top scorer Josh Maja is facing a prolongued period on the sidelines.

The Baggies moved especially late to bolster their frontline, with the deal to bring Armstrong in on a short-term basis not confirmed and announced until more than 14 hours after the deadline.

With West Brom’s deadline day fortunes fairly mixed, we asked FLW’s resident Albion pundit, Callum Burgess, if there was anything he wished his club had or hadn’t done during the window.

Callum said: “Usually in the transfer window, Albion fans are left after the deadline feeling quite pessimistic and feeling that the club could have done more. But this time around it’s probably the opposite, where the majority are quite happy with the efforts.

“The one disappointing thing that people might be a bit annoyed about is losing Alex Palmer on deadline day. Obviously, he’s got a great record with us, so it would always have been a massive blow to lose him.

“He gets his opportunity in the Premier League with Ipswich Town, and hopefully he does well with them.”

Callum also gave his thoughts on the decision to recall young shot stopper Josh Griffiths from his League One loan spell with Bristol Rovers. He said: “Obviously, for Albion, Josh Griffiths has come back from Bristol Rovers and it seems like he’s going to get his opportunity to get the number one position.

“So, while it’s a blow in the short-term to lose Palmer, it might end up being a positive in the long-term if Griffiths can continue to keep getting better and better after a successful loan spell.

“Hopefully, he can perform well for us but, of course, in the meantime, Alex Palmer was a reliable goalkeeper for us and he did a great job for us over his years at the club.”

Palmer has been one of the Championship’s best ‘keepers this season

It is undoubtedly a massive blow to lose your first-choice goalkeeper on deadline day, but in West Brom’s case it really is no surprise.

Palmer has displayed the kind of form all season that is sure to attract the attention of Premier League clubs.

Only three second tier ‘keepers have kept more clean sheets than Palmer’s 11 and he has been crucial to a staunch defensive showing from the Baggies that, so far, has seen them concede just 27 goals in the league.

After Aro Muric’s recent struggles, Ipswich moved quickly to add to their goalkeeping ranks in a bid to boost their top flight survival hopes. Palmer was identified as one of the Championship ‘keepers capable of making the step-up and would likely have cost less than some of the other options that could have been available.