“I hated it” – Cédric Kipré on the West Brom wake-up call which changed everything
Cedric Kipre has admitted his loan move from West Bromwich Albion to Cardiff City provided the wake up call he needed to kickstart his career.
The defender has been speaking to Liberation about his early career and the moment that his time in the UK really kicked off.
The 28-year-old currently plays for Stade Reims in France after joining them from West Brom in the summer.
It’s the latest step in a varied career so far for him. He started in Paris Saint Germain’s youth set up before joining Leicester City and then Motherwell.
A move to Wigan followed in 2018 before he joined West Brom two years later. After a spell at Charleroi he was then loaned to Cardiff City before returning to the Baggies.
He then established himself as a key player at the Hawthorns last season, making 48 appearances in all competitions across the campaign. He finished the campaign as both Supporters’ Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year.
That was a big turnaround for a player who had seemed unlikely to make the grade. He admits it was that loan spell at Cardiff which proved to be the difference.
“When I signed for West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League, I didn’t play a second the first season,” he explained.
“I go on loan to Charleroi in Belgium, then I come back to West Brom where I don’t play much and I go on loan to Cardiff for the 2022-2023 season… Now, I hated it.
“Cardiff are playing in the same league as West Bromwich. I tell myself that I no longer have a choice. The West Brom directors are going to have me under their noses all season. I have to tear everything up, and that this season that is starting is mine.
“Maybe I liked this pressure. Maybe I needed it too. I don’t know. But everything has changed. I returned to West Brom in the summer of 2023 when I had one year left on my contract there and I followed that up with a great season.
“I was voted best player by the club, by a supporters’ association, then another. If I was ever proud of something, it was having turned things around.”
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