PLYMOUTH, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 1: Isaac Price of West Bromwich Albion during the Sky Bet Championship match between Plymouth Argyle FC and West Bromwich Albion FC at Home Park on February 1, 2025 in Plymouth, England. (Photo by Adam Fradgley/West Bromwich Albion FC via Getty Images)
A Palmer repeat: West Brom’s “outstanding” star wanted by PL club
Responding to the abject failure of Tony Mowbray returning to the West Bromwich Albion hot-seat, the Championship outfit has gone down the more modern, if untested route of appointing Ryan Mason.
Of course, the Baggies have excelled in the past when going after a manager once regarded as a second-in-command figure, with Carlos Corberan a background figure at Leeds United himself before succeeding at the Hawthorns, much like the 33-year-old was at Tottenham Hotspur.
Mason will hope no high-profile exits are signed off on during the early stages of his tenure, with Mowbray having to deal with the major exit of Alex Palmer at the start of his choppy second stint.
Ultimately, the loss of Palmer – among other factors – contributed to West Brom’s promotion campaign being derailed.
Palmer’s demoralising sale
The Kidderminster-born goalkeeper would have to be patient waiting it out for senior chances, but when he became the Baggies’ main number one under Corberan, the 28-year-old never looked back.
The 2023/24 season would see Palmer start every single league clash under the Spaniard’s wing, resulting in the gloveman collecting a mightily impressive 18 clean sheets along the way, whilst also only leaking 48 strikes in total.
He entered the following campaign overflowing with confidence, therefore, with Palmer only shipping 27 league goals across 30 second-tier matches before Ipswich Town came calling.
Unfortunately, instead of sticking with their dependable stopper, West Brom would cash in, as Palmer left his boyhood club behind mid-season for £2m.
| West Brom’s record after Palmer’s exit (24/25) | |
|---|---|
| Stat | Palmer |
| Games played | 16 |
| Wins | 5 |
| Draws | 4 |
| Losses | 6 |
| Goals conceded | 20 |
| Clean sheets | 3 |
| Sourced by Transfermarkt | |
Whilst the 28-year-old attempted to fit in at his new Suffolk location, the wheels came off West Brom’s promotion mission drastically, with only three clean sheets coming the Baggies’ way after Palmer’s departure, alongside only five league wins being tallied up.
West Brom cannot deal with another demoralising exit of this fashion if they want to mount a serious promotion charge under Mason.
But, they could be heading to another Palmer situation.
West Brom must not sell “outstanding” star
Murmurs have died down regarding Tom Fellows leaving the Baggies this summer, which will be music to the ears of West Brom fans and Mason alike, considering he notched up 14 assists in league action last season.
Yet, the summer will still bring about a lot of anxiety regarding the situation of Isaac Price, with a new report from SportsBoom speculating that the recent January buy could already be heading for the exit door as a Jobe Bellingham-depleted Sunderland circle for his services.
Price had hardly any time to show off his excellence for West Brom last season – especially as he joined Mowbray’s camp amid the Baggies’ promotion hopes falling off a cliff – but he has shown this off-season what he’s all about when curling home efforts like the one above on the international stage for Northern Ireland.
Off the back of his continued brilliance for his country, scout Jacek Kulig has labelled Price as “fantastic”, with Mason perhaps the manager to get even more out of the promising 21-year-old, having worked closely with Spurs’ rising stars when located in North London.
There is still plenty to come from Price at the Hawthorns, with the former Everton youth product at least managing to get off the mark with a single goal and assist from 15 league appearances last season, even as his new employers regularly slipped up.
Therefore, instead of selling him to the likes of Burnley or Sunderland before he reaches his full potential, the Baggies must keep a firm grip on their “outstanding” youngster, as his ex-Toffees teammate Asmir Begovic once labelled him.
Further lauded as “smooth” when gliding forward by Mowbray, patience must be exercised on the end of West Brom with their rising star, especially now that a youth-oriented boss such as Mason is in charge.
If he comes good, he could well be a key player if promotion is to be clinched.
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