Cedric Kipre showes he can have West Brom role next season after impressing on Charleroi debut
Cedric Kipre has shown West Brom what they could be missing with an impressive debut performance for Charleroi at the weekend.
The centre-back signed for Albion last summer but was never given a regular chance in the team, despite playing well against us for Wigan last season.
He seems determined to prove himself and has hit the ground running in Belgium.
Kipre signed for Charleroi on deadline day but had to remain patient and did not feature until the Sint-Truidense VV game at the weekend.
He made up for lost time and proved to his manager that he deserves a spot in the Charleroi defence.
Per SofaScore, a return of four interceptions and four out of five aerial duels won shows he was dominant on the ground and in the air.
That led Kipre to achieve a WhoScored rating of 7.5 and helped his team to a clean sheet.
But now he has his spot in the team he must build on his positive first impression and perform to a good standard for the rest of the season.
If he manages that he could play a role for us in the Championship next season.
We look doomed currently and soon we must start preparing for life outside the Premier League – convincing Sam Allardyce to stay would be a great first step.
It has taken him a little while but Big Sam now has us well-drilled and organised.
Dara O’Shea has been transformed recently and Kyle Bartley has also improved – underlined by his inclusion in WhoScored’s February team of the month.
There is a good chance Kipre can follow in that pair’s footsteps, and resurrect his West Brom career after appearing just twice for Albion this term.
Last season the 24-year-old managed 1.4 tackles and 1.6 interceptions per game for Wigan (WhoScored), so he clearly has the ability to perform in the Championship.
He is still relatively young too and working under an experienced manager like Allardyce could really enhance his game.
In other West Brom news, a recent report has detailed a worrying update on the future of a key Albion player.
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