Carlos Corberan shares West Brom summer plan for Alex Mowatt and Cedric Kipre
By Matt Chadder
Midfielder Alex Mowatt and centre-half Cedric Kipre await clarification on their West Brom futures after spending the season on loan at Middlesbrough and Cardiff City respectively.
Mowatt finished fourth and in the play-off places with Michael Carrick’s side. The midfielder started in three of Boro’s last five matches and produced a couple of assists in this time.
Defender Kipre spent his season fighting at the other end of the Championship table and proved to be a crucial member of Sabri Lamouchi’s Cardiff City defence. He started 41 of his 42 league appearances for the Bluebirds and scored the winner at Rotherham recently to secure Cardiff’s safety.
Now, after keeping a close eye on the duo from afar, manager Carlos Corberan is set to decide whether they have a future in his West Brom team.
“I will do this assessment at the end of the season when there are no games in the middle so I can look in detail,” Corberan said, as reported by Birmingham Live on 11 May.
“It’s true that I know him (Kipre). When I was preparing for the game against Cardiff, I was watching him. I know the minutes, I know when he plays, and I know when he doesn’t.
“He scored the goal at Rotherham and that’s the most important thing that we can talk about, that he scored, no other aspect. The most important thing for me is what he is doing in the pitch. When you have one player on loan and he is doing well, you are happy.
“The same with Mowatt – Mowatt has been playing for Middlesbrough in the last games, he has been involved and this is very positive for him to grow. The moment to evaluate them, and the possibilities of them in our club, is at the end of the season. That is not the holiday time, that is the time to make evaluations of aspects of next season.”
Decision time
Both players are now entering the final year of their contracts with West Brom and will want to have their futures resolved sooner rather than later.
It is a decision Corberan will also likely want to make quickly so the Spaniard can begin to switch his focus towards next season and the objective of promotion.
Kipre and Mowatt enjoyed some successes while out on loan and may now have a taste for first-team football. If Corberan has no intention of utilising the pair regularly then it may be best for all parties involved for both players to be moved on.
Although, with the potential need for West Brom to cash in on some of their biggest stars in order to resolve the club’s financial issues, Corberan may be excited by the idea of having two fresh options this season who now have Championship experience under their belt.
In particular, if Mowatt can help fire Middlesbrough to the Premier League in the upcoming play-offs he could bring that experience of promotion back to the Baggies to help the club return to the big-time next season.
In other West Brom news, the club have made a desperate attempt to rip fans off now the season has ended.