Yahoo News West Brom complete third summer transfer as new signing gets his wish
West Brom have confirmed that they've signed goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith on a two-year contract after he decided to leave Derby County at the end of last season. Wildsmith joins Albion after helping the Rams win promotion from League One and having claimed the third tier's golden glove award - as his new teammate Alex Palmer did in the Championship.
Despite being offered fresh terms to remain at Pride Park, Wildsmith has chosen to make the move across the Midlands and to The Hawthorns, where he will challenge Palmer for the first-team spot. It's understood that League One Barnsley were very keen on bringing Wildsmith to Oakwell.
The 28-year-old, who is Sheffield born, has spent most of his career to this point at Wednesday in his hometown. He left the club in 2022 and spent the last two years with the Rams, playing 97 matches in the process. He follows Ousmane Diakite and Torbjorn Heggem in joining Albion so far this summer.
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Wildsmith's capture has also allowed Albion to ship out promising goalkeeper Josh Griffiths, who has embarked on the fourth loan spell of his career, this time with Bristol Rovers. It is the intention of Albion that Griffiths plays a full season at the Memorial Stadium for the Gas while Palmer and Wildsmith do battle at home.
“Coming here was something I really wanted to happen,” Wildsmith said. “I wanted to pursue it straight away, especially given the size of the club and the targets that it has. I’m delighted to be here. I’m really pleased to be back in the Championship, especially after last season’s efforts of winning promotion with Derby County.
“I’ve experienced the Championship with Sheffield Wednesday before, so I’ve had that exposure at this level which is great for me. I’ve shown what I can do week-in, week-out at Derby County in League One, so this is a really good opportunity to take the next step in my career. I wanted to come to a club of this magnitude and really push myself again.”
Carlos Corberan, who this weekend is set to lead his squad and staff to St George's Park for their pre-season training camp for the second summer on the spin, added: “I’m delighted to welcome Joe to the club. We felt it was essential for Josh Griffiths to go out on loan this season and in Joe we have a really good goalkeeper coming in.
“To have both the Championship and League One Golden Glove winners in our squad shows that we have excellent quality in this department.”
