West Brom have enjoyed an excellent Championship campaign during the 2023/24 season.
With 13 games of the regular season to go, the Baggies currently occupy fifth place in the table.
As a result, Carlos Corberan‘s side are on track to secure a play-off place, and earn a shot at promotion to the Premier League.
One player who has been crucial to the success West Brom have enjoyed this season, is Cedric Kipre.
The centre back has produced some brilliant performances at The Hawthorns, that are not going unnoticed elsewhere.
Cedric Kipre enjoying an excellent season
Kipre has enjoyed a remarkable change in fortunes at West Brom over the past few months.
Prior to the start of the current campaign, the centre back had struggled to establish himself in his three years with the club.
Indeed, the Ivorian spent the whole of last season on loan with the Baggies’ Championship rivals Cardiff City.
Having returned to West Brom in the summer, Kipre has now firmly established himself in the starting XI.
He has made 34 appearances in all competitions, winning plenty of praise in the process.
Speaking about Kipre on the Second Tier Podcast, EFL writer Ryan Dilks said: “This is a guy who was deemed surplus to requirements at the beginning of last season for West Brom. So it’s quite the turnaround for him.
“Because for me he’s been West Brom’s best player this season. A massive percentage of their success is down to Carlos Corberan, no doubt about it. He’s made this team into a unit. There hasn’t really been an individual player who has performed overwhelmingly better than everyone else.
“But I’d say the best of the bunch is definitely big Cedric. He probably has been the best centre back in the division outside of the top four.
“He’s just been so dominant at the back and is one of the main reasons why only Leicester and Leeds have conceded fewer goals than West Brom. One of the best centre backs in the division definitely.”
Next up for Kipre and the Baggies is a trip to the MKM Stadium to face Hull City in a huge game in the battle to secure a top six spot.
West Brom must agree new Cedric Kipre contract
It is hard to argue with this assessment of Kipre here.
The centre back has been a huge presence at the back for West Brom, proving vital to their push for a place in the play-offs.
As a result, there may well be questions about why he was not given an opportunity such as this at The Hawthorns earlier.
Indeed, this whole situation is one that now looks to have put a lot of pressure on West Brom when it comes to the future of Kipre.
As things stand, the centre back’s contract with the club is due to expire at the end of this season.
That will be a concern for West Brom, who are not going to want to lose such an important player, and certainly not for free.
With that in mind, it seems as though a new contract for Kipre has to be one of the top priorities for the club, away from the battle for promotion.
Following the recent completion of the takeover of West Brom by Shilen Patel, there may be a hope that is something they can indeed get sorted.