Cardiff City should be all over West Brom player situation: View | OneFootball

With the Championship season starting to draw to a close, clubs up and down the division will have begun looking at potential signings for next season.

Out of contract players will always be good potential signings for Championship clubs, particularly those on a budget who can't afford to pay big transfer fees.

West Brom man Cédric Kipré sees his deal at The Hawthorns expire this summer, and one particular Championship club should be keeping a close eye on him.

Cardiff City had the Baggies' defender on loan during the 2022-23 season, and he impressed in the Welsh capital, despite playing in a team that was lucky to avoid relegation.

With this in mind, Cardiff should be all over Kipré this summer, and should look to bring him to the club on a permanent basis.

After being loaned out by West Brom for the 2022-23 season, it remained to be seen what the future held for Kipré at The Hawthorns this season, but he's been a player rejuvenated under Carlos Coberán.

Kipré has become one of West Brom's standout players this season, and has started 38 league games this season, playing 40 games in total, missing just one Championship game for the Baggies this season.

It's been some turnaround, but his contract situation has understandably led to some worry at the club.

The Ivorian sees his deal expire this summer, and there has been no sign of a new deal so far, with West Brom in a bit of a precarious financial position until their takeover from Shilen Patel recently, and it remains to be seen what he can do to change things in the Midlands.

In an ideal world, Kipré's new deal would have been sorted out some time ago, but the club have seemingly been unable to agree fresh terms with the ex-Leicester City man.

This means that he could well leave on a free this summer, and Kipré won't be short of suitors thanks to his performances this season.

According to Fotmob, Kipré is in the top 20% of Championship centre-backs for a number of statistics.

Tackles won (31), interceptions (56), duels won (160), and recoveries (164) are all in the top 20% of players in his position, and it shows how well he's performed this season.

Kipré has been a revelation at The Hawthorns this season, and everyone at the club will be hoping he remains a Baggie next season.

However, with every week that passes, it seems that West Brom's chances of keeping Kipré decrease, and you'd have thought that there are plenty of Championship clubs watching on with interest.

Cedric Kipré would be perfect for Cardiff City

Cedric Kipré was a fan favourite at the Cardiff City Stadium last season, and really stoodout despite the club's struggles last season.

The finished 21st, five points above the drop zone, and only stayed up because Reading suffered a six-point deduction.

It's fair to say that without the likes of Kipré and fellow loan signings Jaden Philogene and Sory Kaba, the Bluebirds would almost certainly be playing League One football now.

They've improved this season under Erol Bulut, but could certainly do with some defensive reinforcements this summer.

Dimitrios Goutas and Mark McGuinness formed a good centre-back partnership earlier this season, but they needed a loan reinforcement in the form of Nat Philips in January to give them the necessary strength in depth in that position.

With Philips set to return to Liverpool in the summer, there's a need for them to sign a new central defender, and Kipré should be their number one target.

The Ivory Coast age-grade international clearly knows the club well, and his time on loan there last season helped to get his career back on track.

Whether he has bigger clubs than Cardiff in his sights after this season remains to be seen, but the Bluebirds should be all over a move for Cédric Kipré this summer.

West Brom of course could agree a new deal for the centre-back before the summer, but given how much he enjoyed his time in South Wales last season, a return to the Cardiff City Stadium isn't beyond the realms of possibility.