A player Paul Warne released from Derby County this summer is now closing in on a move to the Championship.
Derby County knew there was going to be a summer of change following promotion to the Championship.
Paul Warne needed to overhaul his squad to meet the demands of the second tier and started by releasing some of the players who helped him earn promotion.
There were six in total who left at the end of their contracts, including Conor Hourihane, Korey Smith, Joe Wildsmith, Scott Loach, Dwight Gayle and Martyn Waghorn.
Whilst Hourihane has found a new home, returning to his former club Barnsley, the rest are still free agents and waiting for the next chapter of their careers to unfold.
For one of those five players, though, that could be about to change as Wildsmith closes in on a move to the Championship.
West Brom are closing in on a move for Joe Wildsmith
Wildsmith was a shock departure at the end of the 2023/24 League One campaign, in which the 28-year-old kept the most clean sheets in the division and was highly rated at Pride Park.
Previously dubbed ‘unbelievable’ by Warne, the former Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper was expected to renew terms ahead of a season in the Championship however, the Derby boss wanted to sign an improvement on Wildsmith.
Currently a free agent, the talented shot-stopper was linked with a move to third-tier outfit Barnsley last week, with journalist Adam Oxley urging supporters to ‘keep an eye’ on how the situation unfolds.
They now won’t be pleased to know that Wildsmith is ‘set to join’ Championship side West Brom, as per talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook.
The role Joe Wildsmith will play at West Brom
A move to a side with ambitions of finishing in the top six is excellent for Wildsmith, who proved his class at the top end of League One last term.
However, he’s unlikely to play a prominent role under Carlos Corberan as the Baggies already have an exceptional number one in Alex Palmer.
The 27-year-old played a vital role between the sticks as West Brom finished in fifth position, with the Englishman keeping an impressive 18 clean sheets – placing him second to Leeds United’s Ilan Meslier.
For Wildsmith to dislodge Palmer, he’ll need to have an outstanding pre-season and hope he somehow twists the mind of Corberan ahead of the first match.
Wildsmith is used to playing as a back-up keeper, as during his time at Sheffield Wednesday, he only made 89 appearances after making his debut for the Owls in 2015.
To put it into perspective, in his two campaigns as a number one at Derby after joining in July 2022, he featured 97 times for Warne and kept 42 clean sheets.
That just demonstrates how in seven years at Wednesday, he was rarely considered first-choice and if a move to West Brom materialises, that narrative will likely resume.