West Brom man tipped to follow in Alex Palmer's footsteps after £5m Ipswich Town move | OneFootball

West Brom fan pundit Callum Burgess believes Josh Griffiths has an important role to play with Alex Palmer set to join Ipswich Town.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

West Brom sanctioned a significant deadline day outgoing, with number one goalkeeper Alex Palmer joining Premier League outfit Ipswich Town on a permanent deal.

In a surprise turn of events, the Baggies reportedly accepted a £5 million bid from the Tractor Boys for the 28-year-old, who had 18 months left on his current deal at Albion.

Palmer cemented himself as West Brom number one in 2022 after displacing David Button, going on to win the joint golden glove last season along with Leeds United’s Illan Meslier.

Spanning 104 appearances for the Black Country outfit, Palmer is set to get his first taste of Premier League football, helping to keep Ipswich in the Premier League, who are currently staring down the barrel of a return to the second tier.

It is believed the Baggies have used the incoming funds for Palmer to recruit attacking midfielder Tammer Bany, with the young Dane aiming to bolster Albion’s forward line to keep them in the hunt for a play-off place come May.

With Palmer’s move to Portman Road now confirmed, West Brom fan pundit Callum Burgess has offered his thoughts on Albion’s decision to part ways with their shot-stopper.

West Brom positives taken despite shock Alex Palmer exit

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, West Brom fan pundit Callum Burgess admitted it is surprising to see Alex Palmer leave the club at this point, but is optimistic about the recall of academy graduate Josh Griffiths.

Burgess said: “I think most Albion fans were not expecting Alex Palmer to leave, so it would have come as a shock to see him go.

“He did a great job last season to win the Golden Glove award, and he is a reliable goalkeeper at Championship level. He’s kept a lot of clean sheets this season too, with a lot of our draws potentially turning into defeats if he hadn’t performed so well, so we will be sad to see him go.

“I think with 18 months left on his contract, getting a decent fee for him has been important and this allows us to spend some money on players if opportunities do come up.”

Burgess added: “We’ve now got Josh Griffiths coming back from his loan at Bristol Rovers and this is a really big opportunity for him.

"Now Alex Palmer is departing The Hawthorns, the number one position really is up for grabs, so if we do replace Palmer with another goalkeeper who has come through the ranks, it can only be a good thing as he’s got his best years ahead of him.

“He could have a similar journey to Palmer too in that, if he does well, he can move on to a Premier League club, so although it’s sad to see Palmer go, there is some positives to be seen.”

Josh Griffiths could be handed big West Brom chance

While it is undoubtedly a blow for West Brom to lose such a presence in Alex Palmer, Josh Griffiths has a fantastic chance to cement himself as a first team regular in B71.

Gaining further experience in League One with Bristol Rovers has been a positive, and the club have seemingly put full faith that he can take the number one gauntlet and be a success off the back of such an impressive spell.