Where West Brom stand with Alex Palmer reunion after fresh transfer twist

A West Bromwich Albion return for Alex Palmer this summer may have just been made more complicated.

The 30-year-old goalkeeper has been with Ipswich Town since leaving West Brom in the 2025 winter transfer window.

A hugely popular figure during his time at The Hawthorns, the Albion academy graduate is now facing an uncertain future at Portman Road.

Palmer enjoyed a decade-long senior career with West Brom after graduating from the youth system in 2015, and would make 104 competitive appearances for the Baggies before joining Ipswich.

However, the Tractor Boys have already signed two new goalkeepers this summer, with Kayne van Oevelen and Kjell Scherpen arriving from Volendam and Union Saint-Gilloise.

With both of those keepers being 23 and 26 years old respectively, they're both seen as long-term investments by Ipswich, prompting a growing expectation that Palmer will leave Suffolk.

Who is now eyeing up a move for West Brom favourite Alex Palmer?

Despite the fact Max O'Leary is now a permanent West Brom player and with experience keeper Matt Ingram signed, there's still plenty of Albion supporters who would love to see Palmer make his way back to B71.

Indeed, he's a proven performer at Championship level, and on a personal level, he may feel he's got unfinished business in terms of helping them win promotion to the Premier League.

Clearly though, those connected to West Brom aren't the only ones who acknowledge Palmer's abilities.

As per the Daily Mail on Monday, Premier League side Sunderland are now showing an interest in signing Palmer.

It's claimed that he's now a potential option for the Black Cats after Anthony Patterson has agreed an £8million move to Wrexham, where he is expected to undergo a medical ahead of completing the transfer.

Meanwhile, the report also states that Palmer is on Wrexham's shortlist as well should their deal for Patterson collapse.

And so, if West Brom do intend to reunite with their former shot-stopper, then they may well need to make their move ASAP as Sunderland could prove incredibly hard to turn down for Palmer.

But do Albion really need him to come and push O'Leary for the starting job, or does Ingram's recent numbers suggest he's more than capable of doing that himself?

How Ingram impressed in small 2025-26 FA Cup sample size

Joining from Oxford United earlier this summer, Ingram is a vastly experienced goalkeeper who has turned out at every level of the EFL during his career.

Spending the last two years with the U's, the Wycombe Wanderers academy graduate was only able to make seven competitive appearances for them.

Three of those came in 2025-26, with two outings in the FA Cup and one in the League Cup.

Despite this small sample size, however, Ingram did flash his ability to still be a smart goalkeeper at this stage of his career, and one that can be relied upon for West Brom.

As per FotMob, his 1.4 goals prevented per game ranked him in the top 1.4 percentile of all goalkeepers in the FA Cup proper last season.

Meanwhile, his 6.43 saves and 88.2 save percentage per game also placed him in the leading 4.9 and 5.6 percentiles, with these two FA Cup appearances being against Sunderland and MK Dons respectively.

It must be noted, however, that he did concede six goals in a League Cup tie against Brighton too, but his two FA Cup appearances certainly suggest he's a keeper still capable of putting in big performances between the sticks.

So, if Palmer does end up at Sunderland or simply doesn't sign for West Brom this summer, it probably wouldn't be the end of the world for James Morrison.