West Ham United were in the market for a new centre back over the summer, with a host of players linked with a move.
Wesley Fofana, James Tarkowski and Duje Caleta-Car were all touted for moves to East London, but David Moyes ended up bringing in Craig Dawson on loan from Watford.
One of the other names linked with West Ham was Cedric Kipre, as the Hammers looked to land a bargain following Wigan Athletic’s financial meltdown.
The Daily Mail reported back in July that West Ham had made first contact with Wigan about a deal to sign Kipre, with Moyes even spotted watching the Latics against Charlton Athletic.
However, West Ham didn’t end up signing the giant Ivorian – and right now, they won’t really feel like they missed out.
West Brom won the race to sign Kipre, paying around £900,000 to sign him and bolster Slaven Bilic’s squad, but he isn’t featuring.
The 23-year-old has yet to play a single minute of Premier League action so far, and wasn’t even on the bench against Tottenham Hotspur before the international break.
Even with Ahmed Hegazy now gone, Kipre isn’t yet making an impact for Bilic, and it seems that he has a long way to go before emerging in the Premier League.
Kipre is still young, so there is time for him to turn it around, but West Ham currently won’t feel like they’ve missed out with the centre back barely featuring.
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