Bruce can replace "wonderful professional" as WBA plot bid for "agile" £270k-rated ace - opinion

West Bromwich Albion are set to rival fellow Championship outfit Hull City for the signing of Chelsea goalkeeper Nathan Baxter this summer, according to TEAMtalk.

The Baggies are reportedly keen to lure the 23-year-old to The Hawthorns, despite the Blues ‘keeper spending the season on loan at Hull, who are interested in keeping the Englishman on.

Baxter, who joined Chelsea as an eight-year-old, has endured numerous loan spells as the shot-stopper has worked his way up the English football pyramid.

The Englishman currently finds himself in the Championship and is approaching the end to what has proven to be a mixed loan spell in East Yorkshire.

With Matt Ingram the Tigers’ first choice in between the sticks, opportunities have been hard to come by at the MKM Stadium for Baxter.

The Chelsea loanee was called upon for almost three months between November and January, with the ‘keeper making 12 appearances in the Championship and impressively kept six clean sheets during that spell.

However, just one appearance has followed that run with a 2-1 defeat at Millwall last time out.

With Baggies number one Sam Johnstone set to depart the West Midlands club this summer, West Brom will undoubtedly need to add a goalkeeper to their ranks and Baxter could certainly be a decent option.

Labelled a “top professional” by former Aston Villa teammate Micah Richards, Johnstone will certainly leave a major gap to fill with the goalkeeper set to depart as a free agent this summer, having kept 15 clean sheets in 36 Championship appearances this term.

Granted, having not been the first-choice at Hull the likeliness of Baxter taking the number one shirt immediately at West Brom is unlikely, with the experienced David Button still at the club,