West Brom make seventh summer signing as Chelsea right back completes £1.2m move
West Brom have made their seventh move of the summer transfer window - with the arrival of Alfie Gilchrist from Chelsea.
Albion have moved quickly on the back of Darnell Furlong's £4m switch to Ipswich Town on Thursday - with young full back Gilchrist coming in for a fee in the region of £1.2m plus add-ons.
The 21-year-old has penned a four-year deal at The Hawthorns and could be in line to make his Albion debut as they head to Stoke City on Saturday.
The defender turned out 17 times for Chelsea - making eleven appearances in the Premier League.
But after a season on loan with Sheffield United he has made the Albion switch - and admitted that the lure of senior football attracted him to make the move.
He said: "I’m really excited to get going and show everyone what I can do.
“I played against Albion when I was on loan at Sheffield United last season and both games were really good encounters. I remember the atmospheres being really exciting in both matches and I know Albion have some really talented players who I’m excited to work with now I’m here.
“I’m 21 and I want to play regular senior football. I feel like I’ll have a good chance of doing that here if I work hard and continue to develop.”
He becomes the fifth defensive addition of the summer at Albion - following the arrivals of Nat Phillips, George Campbell, Krystian Bielik and Chris Mepham.
Sporting director Andrew Nestor added: “Alfie knows the league well, joining us off the back of a loan in the Championship last season, and has shown consistent improvement.
“His addition reinforces our defensive positions where we now have a healthy mix of relatively young, but experienced, players combined with those that have great potential.
"We are excited by our options here and feel all of them are equipped with the right physicality and skill for this division and beyond.”
