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Town Agree Fee For West Brom Keeper
Monday, 3rd Feb 2025 11:32

Town are closing in on the signing of West Brom keeper Alex Palmer.

A £2 million fee has been agreed between the clubs with Palmer travelling to Suffolk to undergo a medical this afternoon.

The Blues’ goalkeeper situation has been unsettled all season with summer signing Aro Muric putting in inconsistent displays and making way for Christian Walton before Christmas, the former Brighton man then suffering a groin injury at Liverpool just over a week ago.

Kosovo international Muric, who cost the Blues £10 million from Burnley, returned on Saturday but made crucial errors as Town were beaten 2-1 by bottom side Southampton.

Kidderminster-born Palmer, 28, came through the Baggies youth system and has spent time on loan at his hometown club, Oldham, Notts County, Plymouth, Lincoln and Luton.

For Albion, the 6ft 3in tall glovesman has made 104 starts, although none of those in the Premier League, while he won caps with the England U16s as a youngster.

Palmer, who had 18 months on his contract at the Hawthorns, hasn’t played for the Baggies in the FA Cup this season, so assuming all goes well with the medical could make his debut at Coventry on Saturday.


Photo: IMAGO/Pro Sports Images via Reuters Connect



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rdibble added 11:34 - Feb 3
I have always liked palmer class act excellent news
14

JonDouglas4Ballondor added 11:36 - Feb 3
Miles better than Muric, has been solid for West Brom for a couple of seasons. Saw some of their fans on X suggesting 10-15 million so seems like we have got him for a bargain!
9

JonDouglas4Ballondor added 11:36 - Feb 3
Miles better than Muric, has been solid for West Brom for a couple of seasons. Saw some of their fans on X suggesting 10-15 million so seems like we have got him for a bargain!
0

Elpelly added 11:37 - Feb 3
Glad to see we’re hopefully getting a keeper in as we can’t afford to continue with Muric whilst Walton is injured.
25

Stato added 11:40 - Feb 3
Why wasn't this done BEFORE Southampton game ?
-11

afcfee added 11:40 - Feb 3
Should be decent in championship next season, the signs were there in the Friendly V Nice shame mckenna stuck with his man for so long, now finally accepted defeat but too late.
-3

bringmeaKuqi added 11:41 - Feb 3
At this stage, any roll of the dice is better than Muric, and Palmer seems like a better than average roll. I'd have been okay with Slicker, but at least we're doing something
20

robinsonj added 11:42 - Feb 3
Back of the net! is that £5 million plus Muric?
9

BulgarianBlue added 11:43 - Feb 3
Best news ever.
10

ThaiBlue added 11:45 - Feb 3
The penny has finally dropped
11

Broadbent23 added 11:46 - Feb 3
I didn't think that MA would be brave enough to buy an emergency keeper. Unfortunately Saturday's defeat was a bitter pill to swallow. This transfer will make or break us. Whether Is it player, backroom or owner driven we can only guess.
7

ITFCSG added 11:50 - Feb 3
Best news of the day. Palmer is one of the better Champ keepers. I don’t want to see Muric in a Town shirt ever again, get rid
9

Karlosfandangal added 11:51 - Feb 3
Had to laugh at some of the comment yesterday of people saying why bring Muric back, might have been that Walton was injured was the reason.

Have to say still don’t get why we let Hlakey go and spent £8 million on Muric, surely we could have used that money to keep him who I feel is better than Muric.

Hope we now sell Muric if we get Palmer who I feel is far better
15

itfc2024 added 11:56 - Feb 3
hopefully this mean muric won't play for the club again I'd rather go down with palmer In goal than him
3

DavoIPB added 11:56 - Feb 3
I hope people realise this is just back up for Muric! Don't expect him to start ahead of Muric
-21

Alyson added 11:57 - Feb 3
Hurray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank goodness for that - looks a quality player - Golden Glove winner last season too. Quick - sign him before 11pm and let's get him in!
17

benfromkent added 11:59 - Feb 3
Could be a welcome move as Muric is going to have to do a lot to win over the fans.

From day 1, for some reason, he never resonated with me. Despite his performances, he just seems aloof, has seemingly done very little to 'fit in' and be a fans favourite, doesn't do much for his own PR (including being sent home from international duty!). It's a bit sad, but for me he just comes across as 'unlikable', and I think that's been a big part of the issue (in my opinion).

I don't know much about the chap at WBA, so thought I'd do the modern things and have a look at a stats site to see what that looks like: https://footystats.org

The full stats for both keepers are on the links below (for what it's worth), but they get summed up individually as:

https://footystats.org/players/england/alex-palmer
Alex Palmer is a Goalkeeper who has appeared in 30 matches this season in Championship, playing a total of 2700 minutes. Alex Palmer concedes an average of 0.8 goals for every 90 minutes that the player is on the pitch. Their Clean Sheets ratio is currently at 37%. That means Alex Palmer has kept a Clean Sheet in 11 matches out of the 30 that the player has played in. See how they rank against other Championship Players.

https://footystats.org/players/montenegro/arijanet-muric
Arijanet Muric is a Goalkeeper who has appeared in 18 matches this season in Premier League, playing a total of 1620 minutes. Arijanet Muric concedes an average of 1.67 goals for every 90 minutes that the player is on the pitch. Their Clean Sheets ratio is currently at 6%. That means Arijanet Muric has kept a Clean Sheet in 1 matches out of the 18 that the player has played in. See how they rank against other Premier League Players.


Obviously you're comparing a Championship GK with one in the Prem, but even so, the stats show quite a disparity. From a statistical POV, Palmer would be a better option... But obviously that's not the whole picture - but interesting reading, and right now I'd welcome the move (hoping Muric would be off loaded or loaned out?).
18

wokingblue added 11:59 - Feb 3
Muric is the worst piece of business since Burley bought Matteo Serini. We got relegated that season too :-(
27

Incublue added 12:00 - Feb 3
Response from a friend who is a WBA fan:

You've ruined my Monday haha. Absolutely gutted. He's class, one of our best players, got a bargain there!!

Looks like another year in championship again for us....
19

Bluedocker added 12:01 - Feb 3
Slicker must be well chuffed unless he's going to be no1 and Palmer back up
4

BlueInBerks added 12:02 - Feb 3
Glad to see this, but can't help feeling the only thing preventing Muric from excelling for a club is gaining some confidence. As McK has proven his man management skills already, it is now unlikely to happen at Town and it is regrettable that it must be somewhere else. Sometimes regardless of all the appraisals, testing and gut feel, the fit is just not right and players should find a more natural home. I wish him all the best wherever he lands.
10

Town1Inter0 added 12:10 - Feb 3
Great comment Incublue !
5

Broadbent23 added 12:13 - Feb 3
Muric gave Pep a smug grin when shaking hands after the last Man city game knowing that he was going to get his place back soon. Hopefully he will be No 2 and this will allow Slicker to go on loan (depending if Palmer is cup tied).
-2

Dug added 12:14 - Feb 3
I just Read West Brom are after Jack Clarke on loan , is this part of the deal ? Just asking. Good signing to get an experienced Goalkeeper in now.
8

Rimsy added 12:19 - Feb 3
Good solid keeper. Sort we should have gone for in the summer. I'm sure Muric is a great guy, just not up to the Prem. Sure we would be on more points if we'd done this 6 months ago.
12


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