West Brom have completed the £3.25m signing of the England international goalkeeper Scott Carson from Liverpool. The 22-year-old, who played in 35 Premier League games for Aston Villa last season, has signed a four-year-deal and the club also have the option of adding another year to the deal.
Stoke had appeared close to signing Carson after agreeing a £3.5m fee with Liverpool, but yesterday ruled themselves out of the running for the goalkeeper, who may yet cost West Brom up to £3.75m depending on performance-related criteria.
His arrival takes the Baggies' summer transfer spending to an initial £13.75m after the signings of Roman Bednar, Luke Moore, Do-heon Kim, Graham Dorrans, Gianni Zuiverloon and Marek Cech. Carson stands second in the all-time list of England Under-21 appearance-makers with 29 to his name and was part of the team that reached the 2007 European Championships semi-finals.
Then England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson named him in his 2006 World Cup squad and he made two 'B' international appearances for his country before being handed his senior debut in a 1-0 friendly win over Austria in November. Five days later, with regular number one Paul Robinson out of form, he was thrown in at the deep end in a make-or-break Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia - but his competitive debut ended in misery as England slumped to a 3-2 defeat.
Carson joined Leeds as a trainee in September 2002 after being spotted playing for non-league Workington in the FA Youth Cup. He made his Premier League debut for the Elland Road club against Middlesbrough in January 2004. Twelve months later, with Albion tracking Carson, Liverpool beat off a host of clubs, including Chelsea, to snap him up in a £750,000 deal.
However, his chances at Anfield were limited and a two-month spell at Sheffield Wednesday towards the end of the 2005-06 campaign was swiftly followed by a season-long loan at then Premier League outfit Charlton. He featured in all but two of the Addicks' league clashes and was voted the supporters' player of the year - despite their relegation.
