Cedric Kipre hasn’t enjoyed the start to life at West Bromwich Albion he would have envisaged when turning down the advances of Rovers in the summer.

Rovers agreed a fee with the Wigan Athletic administrators for the 23-year-old Ivorian, only for the Premier League interest of West Brom to steal in ahead of them.

Instead, Rovers moved for Daniel Ayala as their central defensive signing of the summer, with the Spaniard close to a return from injury as he looks to add to his three appearances this season.

For Kipre, even with the increase in matchday squads from 18 to 20, he’s struggled to make the bench for Slaven Bilic’s side, with the Croatian admitting a January move could be on the cards.

His two outings so far have come in the Carabao Cup, playing 90 minutes in a 3-0 win over Harrogate Town and then the defeat on penalties to Championship side Brentford, while he has been an unused substitute on two occasions in the Premier League.

Kipre had become a key man in the Wigan side, with their financial position meaning he was available for a fee in the region of £900,000. Rovers thought they had their man, only for West Brom to swoop in, but the arrival of experienced former Chelsea man Branislav Ivanovic has pushed him further down the pecking.

And his quest for first-team football could see him leave on loan in January.

Bilic told the Express & Star: “I spoke with Cedric recently, he is training really well.

“We have a number of players in there. I told him to be fit. He is training really good, he is a great guy. He is fit, he is focused. He is a good player.

“You never know with form, with the situation with coronavirus, and injuries, you never know. You have to be ready.

“That’s what you have to do, and then wait for the chance.

“January isn’t that far. I spoke to him a week ago, and January is only in a couple of months.

“But whatever the outcome might be he has to be fit and in good form, and that’s what “Then we’ll see what the situation is. Is it going to improve, his status, here? Or is he going to go on loan? Nobody knows right now.he’s doing at the moment.”