West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper David Button is set to leave the club on a free transfer to join League One side Reading, according to reports in the last 48 hours.

When did David Button join West Brom?

Button first arrived in the Midlands from Brighton and Hove Albion back in 2020, but despite establishing himself as the club’s official number one during his three-year spell, he last season was significantly out of favour having been handed just 13 starts in the Championship.

England’s former youth international’s contract is also set to expire in less than a year so the ongoing transfer window is the ideal time for the Baggies to cash in should they not view him as part of their plans moving forward, which seems like the case.

The 34-year-old was dropped by Carlos Corberan for the 2-2 pre-season friendly vs Salford last month despite being fully fit and available for selection, and it’s not the first time that the boss has publicly made his feelings towards the shot-stopper clear.

Back in February, The Express & Star’s Lewis Cox revealed all on a conversation held with the Spaniard regarding the veteran’s performance during the 2-0 defeat vs Birmingham City where he was at fault. He said:

“We've had a chat with Carlos Corberan just there and he actually said an interesting thing in that that first goal really knocked Button and he was just unable to sort of recover, rediscover his composure – which says a lot.”

Is David Button leaving West Brom?

According to Football Insider, Button "will be allowed" to leave West Brom this summer and he's actually closing in on a free transfer to Reading, who are "poised to sign" him before the end of the window.

The Hawthorns goalkeeper is "not in" Corberan's plans for the future, hence why he is set to depart for nothing rather than the club demanding a fee for him.

Alex Palmer was named between the sticks for the Championship's opening day 2-1 loss to Blackburn Rovers, and moving forward, it's expected that Josh Griffiths is "set to battle him for the number one jersey".

Firstly, Button will know that his lack of game time last season was an indicator that he doesn’t really have a long-term future at the club, but he hasn’t helped himself having kept just two clean sheets over the course of the previous second-tier campaign, so West Brom would be making completely the right decision by letting him go.

He also only made 17 saves from 37 shots on target against, giving him a success rate of just 51.4% which was noticeably lower than Griffiths’ 67.6% and Palmer’s 71.8%, via FBRef, showing that he is the weakest of all three goalkeeping options.

Standing at 6 foot 3, Button has been labelled a “huge problem” between the sticks by journalist Josh Bunting, and when you take into consideration the fact that he isn’t getting any younger, sanctioning his exit for any amount would be the best outcome for both parties.