West Brom agree deal for Cedric Kipre to join unnamed Championship club, confirmed by Steve Bruce

Steve Bruce has confirmed that West Brom have agreed a deal with a Championship rival for Cedric Kipre to leave The Hawthorns.

Kipre, 25, was in attendance as Albion beat Northampton 3-0 at Sixfields in a pre-season friendly on Wednesday night (13 July) but failed to make Bruce's matchday squad.

Although Bruce has failed to say which club Kipre is joining and whether or not he's leaving permanently or on loan, he has confirmed that the Paris-born centre-back won't be at The Hawthorns for at least next season.

When asked by Ian Abrahams on his Instagram account (13 July) if much can be read into the fact Kipre didn't play at Sixfields, Bruce said: "You can but it would be unwise of me to mention the club.

"We've agreed [a deal] with another club."

When asked if it's another Championship club, Bruce said: "Yes.

"I'm going to leave it at that and see if you can get it."

Where's he going?

Kipre has been linked with a number of clubs this summer with the former Wigan defender struggling to make an impact in two years at The Hawthorns.

Luke Dowling signed Kipre simply because of the firesale that was going on at Wigan when they were suffering with financial issues.

The former Albion chief spared no second thought as to whether the Ivorian was good enough or whether or not Slaven Bilic even wanted him in his Premier League squad.

In two years at The Hawthorns, Kipre has played just 19 times in all competitions and spent the second half of the 2020/21 season on loan at Charleroi in Belgium, where he also played just a handful of times.

It's been a miserable couple of years for the centre-back, who's no doubt thrilled to be on his way out of the Black Country club.

But where's he off to?

Rangers have been linked with the defender [Express & Star] while Foot Mercato claimed on 18 May that French club Metz made an enquiry.

As it's a Championship club that Bruce mentioned, we wouldn't be shocked if a return to Wigan is on the cards.

In other West Brom news, a former Albion star is training at the club’s training ground as he looks to find a new club.

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