Ex-West Brom boss wants to sign Albion player who’s expected to play Saturday – report
Blackburn Rovers are interested in landing West Brom outcast Cedric Kipre on a loan deal, according to the Birmingham Mail.
The Championship side, managed by ex-Albion boss Tony Mowbray, are said to be after fresh recruits to ease their defensive injury crisis, as they sit five points off the play-off places at the halfway stage of the season.
Kipre has been a peripheral figure at the Hawthorns after he joined from Wigan Athletic last September, making just two appearances for the Baggies and none since September 22.
He has yet to make a Premier League outing for the Baggies and has often failed to make the matchday squad.
Kipre made the bench for Sam Allardyce’s first three games in charge before being left out of the 4-0 thrashing to Arsenal on Saturday evening.
West Brom are not exactly awash with defensive quality, with their total of 39 Premier League goals conceded the worst in the division, but Kipre has seemingly failed to inspire any confidence with his displays in training, and Allardyce is set to let him leave on loan to prove himself.
The Birmingham Mail report that he could play in West Brom’s FA Cup trip to Blackpool on Saturday before sealing a temporary switch, as Allardyce looks to rotate his team and rest his regulars.
Bartley returns against Arsenal to boost options
Part of Allardyce’s thinking in letting Kipre leave is likely to be the return of defender Kyle Bartley to the West Brom squad after his recent injury problem.
Bartley came on for Branislav Ivanovic in the second half of the Arsenal defeat on Saturday, his first appearance since December 6 as he missed five Premier League games for the strugglers.
With Bartley, Ivanovic, Semi Ajayi and Dara O’Shea, West Brom have enough cover to allow Kipre to leave the club, especially as links to potential new signings begin to gather momentum.
Allardyce will be considering his options as he looks to arrest the alarming defensive statistics that haunt his side.
Often regarded as the man to shore up a leaky defence and offer the sort of foundations that can inspire a side to Premier League safety, Allardyce is failing to have the desired effect, with his new side conceding 13 goals in the four games since his arrival.
Kieran Gibbs returned to the squad on Saturday after pulling out of West Brom’s previous encounter with Leeds on December 29, so combined with Bartley’s return to action, Allardyce has more options to tinker with.
This could mean a five-man defence to plug the gaps that are being left in the side, especially with the lack of capable defensive midfielders to shield the back line.
In other West Brom news, Alan Nixon claims club remain keen on Premier League defender.
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