West Bromwich Albion’s Carlton Palmer thinks the team might come to regret not signing youth product Ethan Ingram to a deal at the Hawthorns sooner. The 21-year-old left the Baggies after turning down the club’s offer of a new contract. According to The Mirror’s live transfer blog (July 3, 7.24am), a move to Scottish team Dundee is reportedly in the works. The young prodigy spent the previous campaign on loan with League Two team Salford City, when he featured 23 times for the Ammies in the fourth tier, in his first full taste of professional football.
The Albion academy product was still waiting for his first taste of league football with the Black Country side, having made just three appearances in the EFL Cup before departing this summer.
Carlton Palmer addresses West Bromwich Albion conundrum concerning Ethan Ingram
At the age of 21, Ingram decided he was not going to play second fiddle at the Hawthorns any longer after getting little taste of first-team football for West Brom. He is now planning to go north of the border. Palmer feels the team could have been more clear about their intentions early in the season if they were going to hang onto the defender, even if Albion did offer him a new contract to stay with the team.
Palmer, who only spoke to FLW, stated: “It’s a tough one; he came up through the youth team ranks and wasn’t playing regularly at the football club. He’s 21.” “He did well while on loan at Salford City last season, but I’m not sure why West Brom waited so long to try to extend his contract; in the end, they made an offer, which he declined. The player obviously wants to play frequently, but at his age, you could have merely offered him a contract and placed him on loan. Although he won’t play much for West Brom, he might have been able to fetch a higher price in the future.
When you have young players with potential, you have to offer them years on their contract. Giving them those years can be risky for clubs at times, but it will buy you some time while they’re out on loan.
West Bromwich Albion facing defensive crisis ahead of 24/25 Championship campaign
This summer, Ingram was just one of several Baggies defenders without a contract; center-backs Cedric Kipre and Kyle Bartley were also considering leaving the Championship team. Since then, Bartley has abruptly signed a new one-year contract with the team, with the possibility of a second season contingent on how many games he plays the next season. A move away from the club this summer is reportedly being considered by Cedric Kipre (pictured), who is attracting a lot of interest from elite clubs in England and abroad and has not been able to work out new terms with the team.
As Palmer attests, Carlos Corberan will need to acquire more players to his defensive line in preparation for the upcoming campaign, as Ingram is also stepping away from the side. “We wait and see; you never know when these players go away,” he said. They might come back to haunt you because you’ll regret not signing him to a longer-term contract if you have to spend millions on a full-back.
It will take time to determine whether Ethan Ingram will be a significant loss for West Brom, but given his strong play when on loan at Salford last season, he could have a bright future in football. “But it goes without saying that West Brom wants to move up to the Premier League, and in order to do that, they are searching for players who they can use right away.”
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