Scott Carson has signed for newly promoted West Brom. for £3.25million on a four year deal. The 22 year old was looking for permanent first team football after a succession of loans around the country.

Now, I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking there’s more than one thing odd about this transfer?

First off, Carson is just 22, goalkeepers generally reach their prime much later in their careers and thus has huge market worth; it was only recently he was being touted as England’s number one goalkeeper. This is a player who has featured in almost every England squad for over a year and will no doubt remain as an England international for the long-term future.

At the beginning of the summer Benitez valued at £10m. So why on earth has it not just dropped but dropped to little over 30% of that value? Is it that we’re that skint we really are selling players on the cheap to raise money to fund Gareth Barry and Robbie Keane?

I challenge anybody to find another player who has featured regularly in the England squad for the past year who would be sold for less than £4m – let alone a player who is just 22 years old?

Mind, it isn’t just the price which is odd in this transfer, but also the choice of club on Carson’s behalf? After spells at Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton and Aston Villa he understandably wanted to settle and therefore improve his chances of establishing himself as England’s number one, fair enough. No disrespect to West Brom here but why then would you choose a club who have bounced between the top flight and the Championship for the best part of the past decade?

If it is true that Blackburn were interested surely that would have made more sense for the player. It’s a great signing for West Brom but surely it still doesn’t provide Carson with the stability he craves? What happens if they get relegated this season, surely he won’t stick around then — maybe there’s a sell-on clause in the deal though and provide a bonus to the deal for Liverpool.

The most bizarre deal of summer? Surely price-wise, West Brom have got a bargain…

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Matt is the co-editor here at This Is Anfield. Currently studying for a sports coaching degree he can be found at Anfield on most matchdays, you can follow him on Twitter here. Contact and read more articles by Matt Ladson

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