West Bromwich Albion and Ipswich Town have had two very different seasons, yet both will have similar regrets about an agreement reached between the two teams in the summer of 2024.

West Brom’s season has not gone as planned at the Hawthorns, with the Baggies mired in a genuine relegation battle and searching for their third permanent head coach.

Ryan Mason’s stint ended in disappointment, with the former Tottenham Hotspur and Hull City midfielder’s away record in particular proving to be his demise, and he was replaced by Welsh manager Eric Ramsay in January.

However, Ramsay’s tenure would be much worse, with the former Minnesota United manager leading the club for only eight games, winning none of them and leaving the club in serious danger of relegation.

Ipswich, meanwhile, will almost probably prefer their current place to the Baggies’, despite not reaching the heights many predicted at the start of the season.

The Tractor Boys are well-positioned to finish in the top six this season, and they remain strong contenders for the top two if they maintain their current form.

Both clubs, while being separated by nearly 30 points in the table, share a common issue that neither has been able to simply resolve this season, and their deal in the summer of 2024 may lie at the heart of both of their problems.

Alex Palmer left West Brom to join Ipswich Town in a potential £5 million move.

Following Ipswich Town’s remarkable elevation to the Premier League in 2024, Kieran McKenna’s team would need to aggressively invest in the squad to prepare for top-flight football, with much of the same group that had gained them promotion to the Championship just a year before.

Czech goalkeeper Valcav Hladky had been the number one between the posts at Portman Road on their road to the Premier League, but McKenna wanted new blood in goal, knowing the volume of shots they would face in the top tier would skyrocket.

Arijanet Muric was signed from Burnley to become the club’s new starting shot-stopper that summer, but with the Kosovan clearly struggling to adjust to life in Suffolk, West Brom’s Alex Palmer was found and signed in a prospective £5 million deal in January to provide competition.

Palmer rose through the ranks at West Brom, spending the majority of his career on loan before establishing himself as the first-choice option at the Hawthorns in 2023/24.

When he arrived, he replaced Muric in goal for the remainder of the top-flight season, making 13 league appearances, although he was unable to prevent the club from being relegated to the Championship.

Meanwhile, Joe Wildsmith and Joshua Griffiths would share goalkeeping responsibilities at West Brom for the remainder of that season, with the latter taking over as the club’s number one heading into this season, as did Palmer at Ipswich, but things haven’t gone as planned at either club.

Kieran McKenna has apparently lost faith in Alex Palmer, as the trade has not worked out for either West Brom or Ipswich Town.

Palmer entered this season as Ipswich’s first-choice goalkeeper, ahead of Christian Walton and David Button. However, the 29-year-old suffered a calf injury in a 3-0 home loss to Charlton Athletic in October and has since lost his spot to the aforementioned Walton.

Since Palmer’s injury, Walton has been the club’s primary goalkeeper, and while he has not been faultless, his presence has not caused Ipswich’s form to deteriorate.

His performances in goal have solidified his spot as Ipswich’s number one for the time being, leaving Palmer out in the cold when he returns from injury, with a lackluster performance in the FA Cup against Wrexham doing him no favors.

At the Hawthorns, neither Griffiths nor Wildsmith have shown the confidence or performance required this season, prompting the entrance of Bristol City’s Max O’Leary in January to help things along.

Though O’Leary hasn’t fared any better, the Baggies may wish they had someone like Palmer in goal right now, given his performances with the Baggies helped him get the transfer to Ipswich in the first place.

Palmer would like more playing time, West Brom needs a reliable goalkeeper, and Ipswich currently have no place in the team for the 29-year-old, so a reunion would be welcomed by all sides at this point.

However, West Brom must find a way to maintain their Championship status without Palmer, as the goalkeeper must fight for his spot back in the team if he wants another chance at Premier League play next season.