There was a wee cheer at Fir Park as news the transfer of Cédric Kipré from Wigan to West Bromwich Albion was announced.
The big defender left Motherwell in the summer of 2018. The 6'3" Frenchman (and now Ivory Coast internationalist) soon established himself as a mainstay of our defence and was an instant hit with the support.
He first appeared in claret and amber in July 2017 when he played as a trialist for 45 minutes in our first pre-season friendly against Stirling Albion.
He was offered a short term contract and played his first professional game at Hampden when we faced Queen's Park in the League Cup. It was to be the first of an amazing five appearances at the National Stadium as he helped us to both knockout finals.
It did not take long before chants of "Kipré, Kipré" echoed for the Fir Park stands and he seemed genuinely delighted. Indeed in his farewell tweet to the fans he said,
"Thank you to the fans who sang my name all season. it was amazing to hear that on the pitch and helped me kick on. I'll never forget my time at Motherwell. I wish you all the very best for the season."
He joined Wigan for a fee reportedly around £750k. The sell-on clause attatched to the deal deliver a healthy bonus to Motherwell's coffers.
A delighted Alan Burrows tweeted "I’m over the moon for @cecekipros - a move to the EPL was, in my view, always on the cards such was his potential. We are obviously very pleased that another who relaunched his career at Fir Park is now in amongst the big boys. Good luck big man!