Josh Griffiths returns to West Brom to fill void as Alex Palmer Ipswich sale confirmed

Griffiths, 23, spent the first half of the campaign excelling on loan at the Gas, who play in League One, but he has now returned to The Hawthorns to vie for the number one role.

Palmer exits the Baggies after 14 years at the club in a move to the Tractor Boys worth up to £5million. The academy graduate had to bide his time for a chance as first choice and spent loans away at six different clubs.

But Palmer fought his way in around the time of Carlos Corberan's appointment in 2022 and went on to clock up 104 senior games for the Baggies and was a joint-winner of the Championship's golden glove award for clean sheets, with 18, last term. Palmer managed 41 clean sheets in all for the club.

Palmer had just 18 months remaining on his deal at the club and there was a concern he might have left for free in the summer of 2026, as was the case with former goalkeeper Sam Johnstone in 2022. The money banked from an academy graduate sale will serve Albion's accounts well when it comes to profit and sustainability regulations.

It leaves Tony Mowbray's senior options as fellow academy graduate Griffiths and Joe Wildsmith, who was signed as a free transfer last summer and has served as deputy to Palmer.

Griffiths has long been rated as a jewel of Albion's academy. The former England youth international, who is from Hereford, has earned rave reviews in his time at third tier Rovers - a fourth loan away from The Hawthorns.

He signed a new three-year contract last summer and reiterated his desire to make it as Albion's number one before heading to Bristol.

Griffiths has been a standout performer for the Gas, who have struggled and are currently down in 18th. He tops the division's save count with 110, a considerable distance higher than his closest rival in that department. He is said to have saved his loan club a number of points with fine displays.

He has previously been on loans at Cheltenham, Lincoln and Portsmouth and across his loan stints alone has clocked up 146 career club appearances.

A spell at Pompey was cut short in the 2022/23 season, when he was brought back in January to cover for the injured Palmer and made 10 Championship appearances for the Baggies.

Albion have more emerging talent in their goalkeeper department in the shape of teenager Ben Cisse. The 19-year-old hometown prospect is seen as a bright light for the future and has caught the eye in his first season as a regular for the under-21s. Cisse recently spoke to the Express & Star about following in the footsteps of Palmer and Griffiths to Albion's first team.