Chris Mepham has completed a £1m move to West Brom after helping Sunderland secure Premier League promotion during his loan spell last season

West Bromwich Albion have confirmed the signing of Chris Mepham from Premier League side Bournemouth for an undisclosed fee, understood to be around £1million.

The 27-year-old Wales international has penned a three-year deal at The Hawthorns, becoming Albion’s sixth signing of the summer transfer window under new head coach Ryan Mason and represents a bargain with several reports claiming Mepham would cost more this summer.

Mepham spent last season on loan at Sunderland, making 40 appearances in all competitions and playing a key role in helping Régis Le Bris’ side secure promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs. He was part of the side that edged past Coventry City in a dramatic semi-final before featuring in the Wembley victory that sealed the club’s return to the top flight.

Speaking after sealing his move, Mepham reflected on his time at Sunderland and looked ahead to a new challenge at West Brom: “I’m obviously aware of what a fantastic opportunity this is and at 27 I’d say I’m probably approaching the most important part of my career. I feel ready for a new adventure.

“Last season I had a really enjoyable loan spell at Sunderland, and this time around I feel like I’m ready to move on a permanent deal and find a home for the coming years. The conversations I’ve had with the manager and other people at the football club have been really positive. Hopefully, now we can create something really special here.”

Albion sporting director Andrew Nestor praised the defender’s experience at both Championship and Premier League level and highlighted the importance of Mepham’s promotion pedigree: “Chris brings a wealth of Premier League and Championship experience to the dressing room, including being part of a play-off winning team last season. At 27, he offers additional quality to a revamped defensive unit, comprising a balance of players in their prime and in development years who all offer versatility across the back line.”

Mepham, who has earned 49 caps for Wales, joined Bournemouth from Brentford in 2019 and went on to make more than 100 appearances for the Cherries, including helping them secure automatic promotion to the Premier League during the 2021-22 campaign. The centre-back joins West Brom’s defensive rebuild alongside Toby Collyer, Krystian Bielik, George Campbell, Aune Heggebo and Nat Phillips as Mason looks to strengthen his squad ahead of the new Championship season.

What Kristjaan Speakman has said about Sunderland’s transfer plans

Speaking to Football Focus before Sunderland's recent win over West Ham, sporting director Kristjaan Speakman said the club would remain active in the transfer market right up until the transfer deadline on September 1st.

“It is a process all the way through to the end of the month," he said. "I mean, we're trying to build the best squad for the Premier League that we can do. We think we've had a really good start at that. Obviously, today will be a good test for us, the first game, but we'll be working away through to deadline day to try to make sure that the team is the right team and the squad is the right squad.

“Fans will be excited, obviously keen to see the new faces, but I think there'll be a few as well who want a bit of reassurance. You know, we've seen history not be kind to some clubs who've had a real go. So it's bound to be a bit of a gamble, it always is. But how much is the club future-proof to make sure everything will be okay in the long run? Yeah, we've always tried to look at every outcome when we make decisions.

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“We're always looking at what's the short-term, and obviously for us that's the Premier League season, and obviously what the medium and long-term is. So we certainly have always been well-planned with that. I think you've always got to look at all the different outcomes, whether they're positive or negative.

“We're all geared up for the positive. You can spend a lot of time, I think, talking about the challenge and the difficulty. We've tried to assess the focus on what the solutions are and how we can build a really positive team for the Premier League.”

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