Carlton Palmer believes West Bromwich Albion may live to regret not offering youth product Ethan Ingram a contract at the Hawthorns earlier than they did.
The 21-year-old has departed the Baggies after rejecting an offer of a new deal with the club, with a move to Scottish side Dundee said to be on the cards, according to The Mirror’s live transfer blog (July 3, 7.24am).
The young talent spent the previous campaign on loan with League Two outfit Salford City, where he featured 23 times for the Ammies in the fourth tier, in his first full taste of professional football.
The Albion academy product was still waiting for his first taste of league football with the Black Country side, having made just three appearances in the EFL Cup before departing this summer.
Carlton Palmer addresses West Bromwich Albion conundrum concerning Ethan Ingram
Having not had much of a taste of first-team football for West Brom by the age of 21, Ingram decided he wasn’t playing second fiddle at the Hawthorns past this summer, with a move North of the border set to be complete.
Although Albion did offer him a new deal to stay at the club, Palmer believes the club could have made their intentions clear earlier in the season, if they were to keep hold of the defender.
Speaking exclusively to FLW, Palmer said: “It’s a difficult one, he wasn’t playing regularly at the football club, he’s 21, he came up through the youth team ranks.
“He impressed on loan at Salford City last season, but why West Brom left it so late to try and renew his contract I don’t know, they eventually offered him a contract which he turned down.
“Obviously, the player wants to play regularly, but at his age, surely you would have just given him a contract and sent him out on loan. He’s not going to play regularly at West Brom, but later on he could have commanded a fee.
| Ethan Ingram – Salford City league goals and appearances (per Fbref.com) | ||||
| Season | Appearances (Starts) | Goals (Assists) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | 23 (19) | 1 (1) | ||
“When you’ve got these young players with talent, you’ve got to give them years on the contract – it is a bit of a gamble at times for clubs – but you’ve got to give them those years and that bides you a bit of time while they go out on loan.”
West Bromwich Albion facing defensive crisis ahead of 24/25 Championship campaign
Ingram was one of a number of Baggies defenders in contract limbo this summer, with centre-backs Cedric Kipre and Kyle Bartley also mulling over their futures at the Championship club.
Bartley has since signed a new one-year deal with the club at the eleventh hour, with the option of a second season said to be linked to the number of matches he plays next season.
Cedric Kipre [pictured] is also said to be debating a move away from the club this summer, having failed to agree new terms with the club, and plenty of interest from top clubs in England and beyond.
With Ingram also walking away from the side, Carlos Corberan faces a task on his hands to add reinforcements to his defensive line for the upcoming campaign, as Palmer attests to.
He continued: “We wait and see, you never know when these players go away. They could come back to bite you, because if you have to go out and buy a full-back and it’s costing you millions, then you’ll regret that you didn’t sign him up on a longer-term contract.”
“Only time will tell whether Ethan Ingram is a big loss to West Brom, but he did really well on loan at Salford last season, so he may well have a bright future in the game.
“But obviously West Brom are looking to get promoted to the Premier League, and to do that they are looking at players they can utilise straight away.”
