Announcement soon: Long-serving West Brom player on verge of new deal – report
West Brom goalkeeper Alex Palmer is on the verge of signing a new three-year contract with the club, according to the Express & Star.
The newspaper reports that the 23-year-old, who has been on the books at The Hawthorns since he was 15, is due to have his new deal announced by the Baggies soon as his existing terms expire at the end of the month.
Palmer has spent the season on loan at Plymouth Argyle, who he helped win automatic promotion to League One by keeping 15 clean sheets in 41 appearances across all competitions.
It is understood he’s now returned to West Brom to train with Slaven Bilic’s first-team until the Championship season ends.
Plymouth manager Ryan Lowe has expressed his interest in re-signing Palmer from West Brom for his side’s League One campaign next season but has been so impressed by the former England youth international that he has tipped him to play at a higher level.
As quoted by the Plymouth Herald earlier this month, Lowe said: “Alex could find himself in West Brom’s first-team squad next season, whether that’s second choice, third choice, being around it.
“I think he’s back training with them. If he goes out on loan again, would he bypass Plymouth Argyle? Probably, yeah.
“Could he go to the Championship? Yeah, 100 per cent. So we are cautious of that.
“If the option arose, and he wanted to come back and we wanted him, then we would certainly look at it.”
It remains to be seen whether or not West Brom will loan Palmer out again ahead of next season but there is a good chance he can play a role in the first-team.
Sam Johnstone’s future at The Hawthorns is secured but second and third-choice goalkeepers Jonathan Bond and Ali Al-Habsi are both reaching the end of their respective contracts and could be released by the Baggies in the near future.
After how well he performed at Home Park, we wouldn’t be shocked to see Palmer get a spot in Bilic’s first-team squad next season.
We would have some reservations about that because Palmer has never played above League Two and never made a senior appearance for the Baggies, despite being one of the club’s longest-serving players after arriving eight years ago.
Loaning him out to a Championship club could be a safer bet to see how he gets on in the second-tier but as Lowe says, a return to Plymouth is bound to be unlikely because he’s too good for a League One club.
In other West Brom news, our panel of Super Fans have reacted to Albion’s interest in this £15million-valued goal machine.
Be sure to follow West Brom News on Facebook and Twitter for 24/7 updates on the Baggies and more exclusive interviews with Kevin Phillips.