Carlos Corberan avoids costly West Brom error as transfer decision made on Alex Palmer
Alex Palmer’s summer exit from West Brom is now off following talks between Carlos Corberan managing director Mark Miles and head of football operations Ian Pearce, a departure which will have cost the club in the long run.
The Hawthorns number one was controversially left out of West Brom’s final pre-season match, a 4-3 defeat to Bolton Wanderers [29 July] after they received a bid the day before from Luton Town (Joe Chapman, 29 July).
Reports emerged soon after that the Baggies had accepted the £3m bid from the newly-promoted Premier League club, according to Daily Mail journalist Tom Collomosse (29 July) but in a fresh new twist, Corberan may well have avoided a potential banana skin after Pearce and Miles put their foot down on Palmer’s planned exit.
According to Express & Star journalist Lewis Cox (31 July), the West Brom chiefs ultimately decided together with Corberan to block the transfer despite the fee further helping the club financially following the £7m sale of Dara O’Shea.
Cox wrote: “The offer, understood to be from Championship play-off winners Luton, was initially considered as it was a full cash up-front offer as opposed to a fee paid in instalments.
“The Express & Star understands the Hatters’ bid for the 26-year-old was higher than the £2.5million-£3million reported in places. But, with head coach Corberan fully involved in discussions with managing director Mark Miles and head of football operations Ian Pearce, the move will now no longer go ahead.”
While the Baggies are expected to lose more of their star members in the coming weeks, they certainly couldn’t afford to lose Palmer despite possessing a potentially stocked goalkeeping department and the Baggies chiefs could have certainly had a totally different response had that sort of fee emerged for David Button’s services.
Palmer is by far and well clear in becoming Corberan’s number one goalkeeper for the new season and after losing O’Shea it was absolutely imperative, the Spaniard did not disrupt his back-line even further with Palmer’s sale.
While the £3m received would have proven a healthy windfall for the Baggies given their financial difficulty, Palmer remains a key and influential figure in the dressing room, a rare and unique commodity right now given what West Brom have already lost this summer.
Losing your first-choice keeper a week before the season begins isn’t ideal for any side, and that would have proven a huge loss for the club, especially with the start of the new campaign just days away.
With West Brom holding new ambitions to push for Premier League promotion, losing yet another player who holds the relative experience and quality to aid that quest will been a hugely damaging blow to their chances.
It remains to be seen what led to the last-minute decision of the West Brom chiefs and Corberan regarding Palmer’s sale, but regardless, the Baggies coach has indeed avoided a huge potential banana skin. It’s a very sensible and crucial decision all-round.
In other West Brom news, the Baggies have looked to a Premier League side for inspiration this summer