Opinion: Rangers switch for West Brom man surely works best for all involved | OneFootball

It is no surprise to see speculation surrounding Cedric Kipre’s future at West Brom emerge again, with the summer transfer window just around the corner.

Since joining West Brom back in the summer of 2020, the centre back has managed just 17 appearances in all competitions for the Baggies in the last two seasons.

That has seen the Ivorian unable to establish himself under no fewer than four managers in that time, with Slaven Bilic, Sam Allardyce, Valerien Ismael and Steve Bruce having all taken charge of the club since he was signed.

As a result, reports that West Brom will be looking to move Kipre on this summer do make sense, giving the club the funds and space in the squad required for Bruce to put his own mark on the side, in his first transfer window as the club’s manager.

Indeed, it also seems as though interest is already growing, with Norwich City and Rangers both credited with an interest, and it is hard not to feel as though the Scottish giants would be a more suitable destination for the centre back, in the eyes of both West Brom, and Kipre himself.

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Simon Cox

From a West Brom perspective, the Baggies are going to expect and want to be pushing for promotion from the Championship next season, after what has been a disappointing first season back in the second-tier this time around.

But with Norwich’s relegation from the Premier League this season having already been confirmed, they too will no doubt be eyeing up a push for another immediate return to the top-flight during the 2022/23 campaign.

Consequentially, it is hard to really see why West Brom would want to sell Kipre to a potential promotion rival such as the Canaries, allowing them to strengthen their squad, when they could let him move to a side such as Rangers, who will obviously have no major impact on the Baggies’ push for promotion next season.

Indeed, a move to north to Ibrox could certainly be appealing to Kipre himself, giving him the chance to compete for trophies, and in European football, in front of one of the most notorious atmospheres in the football world, on a regular basis.

That opportunity could arguably be more tempting for the defender, than the uncertain instability of the continuing cycle of relegation and promotion that Norwich appear to have got themselves in at the moment.

Beyond that, it is also worth noting that if Kipre was to impress consistently at the sort of level Rangers compete in on a regular basis, that in itself could earn him the opportunity to move to the Premier League on a more stable footing than he might get with a move to Carrow Road further down the line.

At 25-years-old, there is of course, still plenty of time for the centre back to earn himself a chance such as that at a later stage of his career.

It seems therefore, that while West Brom will undoubtedly have particular targets over who they want in terms of incomings this summer, there may also be a case for them to aim for certain destinations when it comes to offloading certain players.

With regards to this case of Kipre’s case, there is certainly an argument that such an approach could be for the good of the individual as well.