Ipswich Town on the verge of completing £750k West Brom transfer swoop | OneFootball

Conor Townsend is of interest to the Premier League newcomers, and a deal looks set to be struck

Ipswich Town are reportedly in talks with West Bromwich Albion over a move for Conor Townsend, with a deal set to be struck for the experienced left-back's services.

As first reported by TWTD, the Tractor Boys have been looking at the possibility of acquiring the experienced defender ahead of their first campaign as a Premier League side since 2002.

And as since been reported by Express & Star journalist Lewis Cox, Townsend is all set for the move to Suffolk, where he will provide competition for Leif Davis, in what The Telegraph's John Percy claims is a £750,000 deal.

West Brom's preparations for the forthcoming season of their own are starting to intensify, with rumours in recent days focusing more on those currently in Carlos Corberan's squad who look set for pastures new by the time the Championship season gets off and running on 10th August.

The Spaniard guided Albion to a fifth-place finish last term, but they were unable to join the aforementioned East Anglian side in the top flight after being defeated by eventual play-off winners Southampton in the play-off semi-finals.

Corberan has earned high praise for his transformation of the West Midlands outfit since taking charge in October 2022, but this summer has seen a number of experienced players depart the football club, with a high amount of player turnover already taking place, and such trends look set to continue between now and the close of the transfer window on August 30th.

Despite the aforementioned Townsend still being a part of the experienced core of players which remain at The Hawthorns, the club are now set to lose his services to the Premier League new boys.

The initial report from TWTD stated that initial links between Ipswich and the Albion defender surfaced on Wednesday morning, but things have clearly advanced due to local West Midlands reports stating that Townsend is on the way out.

Ipswich are said to be looking at bringing the 31-year-old to Portman Road to provide adequate cover to Leif Davis, who excelled in the Championship last term with his defensive nous and accumulation of outstanding creative metrics as back-to-back promotions from League One to the top flight were achieved by any team for the first time since 2012.

This isn't the first time Townsend has been linked with a move to East Anglia, having been the subject of a bid from Ipswich back in the summer of 2018, prior to the club's relegation to League One.

The Hull City academy graduate eventually moved to B71 in the same window, and has become a cornerstone of the West Brom defence under an abundance of managers and head coaches, initially signing under Darren Moore following the club's relegation to the Championship in 2018.

Since then, the full-back has gone on to be the club's first choice left-back in both the second tier and a one-season stint in the Premier League back in 2020/21, where he made just 25 appearances as a result of a knee injury.

Albion's greatest strength last season was unquestionably their defensive resolve, and Townsend played a key role in the side's run to the play-off semi-finals, making 42 appearances overall - 33 of which were starts - in the regular season, alongside the likes of Kyle Bartley, Cedric Kipre and Darnell Furlong.

Despite not being the flashiest of names compared to some of his divisional counterparts, the former Scunthorpe man has forged a career as a steady Championship performer, although he may look set to return to the top flight three years after West Brom suffered relegation.

Conor Townsend's West Brom departure would be an interesting move

This potential departure would be an interesting move for all concerned as Townsend is out of contract with West Brom next summer as things stand, and he wouldn't have been expecting to make the move to a Premier League club.

It has represented the chance for the club to make a profit on their reported £750,000 investment of six years ago, but it appears that they've accepted the exact same fee to sell.

And this is a move which the full-back can't really turn down, despite the fact he would be utilised as back-up to Davis at Ipswich - it's Premier League football, after all.

However, from a West Brom perspective, Townsend is currently the only natural left-back contracted to the club at present, so it would be a rather bold move to see him move on without any imminent replacements lined up, especially with the first game of the season against QPR now less than two weeks away.

If he was to depart, then the defender would depart with the good will of Albion supporters, after making 213 appearances and scoring four goals across a lengthy stint to date.