West Brom: Shilen Patel must hand Cedric Kipre new deal to keep Carlos Corberan at The Hawthorns
Shilen Patel must hand West Brom star Cedric Kipre a new contract at The Hawthorns to help keep Carlos Corberan at the club next season.
The Baggies are in the midst of a successful season and look on track to make it to the Championship playoffs, sitting eight points clear of seventh-placed Hull with eight games remaining of the regular season.
And while promotion is far from secured and the team will need to overcome some top teams to get back to the Premier League, the club need to start planning ahead for the 2024/25 season now.
With the new owner in place, the club will be keen to ensure they’re in a better place for the new campaign regardless of the division they’re in and that comes with forward planning and big decisions being made.
Finances are now much better than they were under Guochuan Lai and it means that contract situations can be looked at in more detail, and defender Kipre is someone who should be fast-tracked to the top of the list for any conversations.
Cedric Kipre has become key under Carlos Corberan
Last year it seemed as though Kipre had very little future at The Hawthorns when he was sent out on loan to Cardiff, but he has since returned and become a key member of the squad.
The 27-year-old has featured in all but one Championship game this season and contributed two goals too, proving his importance to a defensive unit that has only conceded more goals than Leeds and Leicester this season.
But the French centre-back is out of contract at the end of the campaign and currently there has been little discussion about fresh terms or whether he is planning to leave.
With Corberan performing so well as manager, he is sure to be targeted by other clubs in the near future and it will no doubt be difficult for him to say no. It’s already happened with Leeds last summer, among others.
The best way to keep him at The Hawthorns, regardless of the division the club are in, is to give him what he wants and it’s clear he will want to have Kipre in the squad. He has earned the trust of fans, and he should be given free reign of his squad.
Whatever Corberan wants he should get right now, and it’s not like Kipre hasn’t earned the deal. West Brom must fast-track these talks and get him tied down before the season ends.
In other West Brom news, international aces could miss out in predicted lineup to face Millwall.
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