Rekeem Harper has wished West Bromwich Albion well for the future having taken his leave – on a permanent basis – this summer. The Albion academy product left The Hawthorns for League One promotion chasers Ipswich Town at the end of last week, for a fee believed to be in the region of £500,000.
Rekeem Harper said: “It was great. I still remember my debut to this day. Being given the opportunity to come on for 20 minutes and play at the top in football was a great experience. +It was a proud day for me, my family and all the people close to me. That’s obviously the long-term goal, to get to the Premier League, and hopefully I can do that with Ipswich to get more moments like that.”
Harper, who scored just the two goals in the blue and white stripes – those goals coming against Rotherham in the Championship and Harrogate last season in the EFL Cup – hopes that Ipswich and Albion will be crossing swords in the near future.
Rekeem Harper said: “It was very good. I’m thankful to all the staff there for doing everything they’ve done for me and allowing me to make my first real start in professional football. It was a great time there and in the future I want to wish them all the best. Now it’s time for me to go on my next adventure and hopefully I’ll see them soon.”
Harper made 18 appearances for Blues under Bowyer, and his predecessor Aitor Karanka after joining in the January transfer window. He’s glad he did, after sourcing a regular supply of first-team game time.
Rakeem Harper added: “Birmingham was another very good experience. Being at West Brom where I wasn’t playing as much, it was good to get out and be in a different environment. It was an opportunity to go and play games and I feel like I did achieve that at Birmingham. I managed to get a few appearances and we managed to stay safe so my personal goal of playing more football was achieved. I’m delighted that I can come here and continue on that performance from last year.”
