(Credit: Imago)

Jacob Raw

Tue 5 May 2026 18:00, UK

Alfie Gilchrist could leave West Bromwich Albion already, following the news that the club wants to sign Danny Imray on a permanent basis.

The Baggies signed Gilchrist from Chelsea last summer, but the highly-rated defender has been given limited chances at The Hawthorns.

But when the opportunities have come, the Englishman hasn’t been able to impress, though he needs first-team chances at his age.

Albion then brought in Imray on a straight loan from Crystal Palace until the end of the campaign, who Shilen Patel could bring to the Black Country Club for good this summer.

If West Brom sign Imray permanently, it would keep Gilchrist’s chances limited, forcing him to seek an early exit into a long-term deal with the Baggies.

These stats show why Alfie Gilchrist has failed at West Brom

West Brom will have to be patient to sign Imray, as his parent club Crystal Palace have no firm plans in place for the right-back until the Eagles appoint a new head coach.

The 22-year-old has gone from strength to strength for the Baggies, even if it took him a while to show his true form in the bginning.

As seen in the table above, Imray played 16 games, starting 13 of them, and tallied three goal involvements after a slow start.

The defender has an impressive 55.2 per cent dribble success, and puts in over six defensive contributions per 90 minutes, which has kept Gilchrist from playing.

Though he possesses the ability to play at centre-half, Gilchrist’s natural position is right-back, and he needs to play games to fulfil his potential.

The Englishman has featured in three less Championship games than Imray, despite being at the club twice as long.

The truth is that, even though he hasn’t impressed when playing, no manager has given Gilchrist a chance to feature consistently.

Why Gilchrist’s loan exit may be best

The Championship is always a long season, but excitement among Baggies fans is already there with the future under James Morrison looking bright.

Due to the nature of the Championship, strength in depth is needed for a long campaign, with Gilchrist a good option to possibly sit behind Imray.

However, Gilchrist will not want to play second fiddle and deserves to have a chance at playing regularly, which means a loan exit could be best.

He holds high resale potential, and Patel would be silly to cash in on the former Chelsea star so soon.

Finding him a loan move to a newly promoted Championship club could work, the same way that a stint with a top-end League One side may prove vital.