West Bromwich Albion have gone about their summer business to date in a rather understated fashion, with only three new bodies joining Carlos Corberan’s ranks so far.
Only the capture of Scandinavian defender Torbjørn Heggem has taken somewhat of a chunk out of the Baggies bank account, with the 25-year-old joining the Championship outfit for a reported fee of £525k, to offer more depth at left-back and centre-back.
Corberan won’t be stopping there though with new recruits that could strengthen the back four in the West Midlands, however, with another centre-back reportedly on the agenda, as the Baggies become more and more accustomed to a future without Cedric Kipre next campaign and beyond.
West Brom looking to sign their next Kipre
According to a report by French outlet L’Equipe, West Brom are interested in clinching a deal for Saint-Etienne defender Mickael Nade, with another party from the Championship also interested in the Frenchman’s services.
Sheffield Wednesday are the other club of note named as being keen on Nade, with the Owls already onto nine incomings this summer, so it remains to be seen what club the 25-year-old picks as his next home away from France.
What Nade can offer West Brom
The 25-year-old could be viewed as a natural successor to Kipre, who also played out in France as a youngster in the Paris St. Germain youth structure, with the dependable Baggies man absent from pre-season training and looking to move on.
Nade is also available on a free transfer, so adding him to the West Brom roster this summer feels like a risk-free swoop to a degree, as the 6 foot 1 defender attempts to find his feet in the English game, learning from the likes of the experienced Kyle Bartley and Semi Ajayi around him.
Being able to win a gem for £0 would soften the blow too of Kipre potentially exiting for nothing, with the West Brom number four’s contract now expired at the Hawthorns, and no agreement has been met to extend that deal.
That will open up space for a new defender to come in and make the centre-back spot his own, offering competition to the likes of Heggem and Ajayi, and perhaps even coming out on top to become Bartley’s partner in the heart of defence.
As can be seen watching the clip above of the 25-year-old in action, Nade could fill the gap left behind by Kipre in terms of being an imposing presence alongside one that is unafraid to get in amongst the goals, having scored five times from 79 Saint-Etienne first-team appearances.
Nade’s performance against Rodez towards the back-end of the Ligue 2 season stood out, as Saint-Etienne won promotion back up to the top-flight, with his goal helping his team pick up a share of the points, whilst his switched-on presence at the back shut out many a Rodez attack.
The 6 foot 1 Baggies target has shades of Kipre’s game present in his own, therefore, with the wantaway West Brom man notching up four goals from his 67 appearances for the club, alongside winning 4.2 duels on average per Championship clash last season.
He might find it a tricky transition acclimatising to the cut and thrust of English football, having only made 23 appearances last season in Ligue 2 despite performing valiantly when pushed into action, but West Brom remained patient with Kipre and he eventually came good.
In an ideal world, Corberan would be playing the 27-year-old week in week out this campaign to come, but the second tier club have plans in place to strengthen at the back now away from the former Wigan Athletic man.
