Former West Brom man Darren Carter on having Albion legend Cyrille Regis as an agent
Darren Carter has recalled the moment he was approached to sign for West Brom - and his surreal meeting with not just one Baggies legend but two.
Carter, who broke through at Birmingham City in the early 2000s had just enjoyed a successful end to the campaign with the Blues in 2005 when West Brom came calling.
The former midfielder, who now manages Blues Women, was interested in the move and after contact from the then manager Bryan Robson - the pair met in a pub beer garden to discuss the move.
On this week's Baggies Broadcast guest series, Carter recalls the meeting and how he arrived at West Brom and how his surreal first meeting where he was flanked by not just one Albion legend, but two Baggies heroes.
He said: "Bryan Robson rang me and asked me to come and meet him, and my agent at the time was Cyrille Regis, god bless him, so we met at a pub beer garden in Coventry, I don't know why but it was very Bryan Robson.
"So me, Bryan and Cyrille spent the afternoon chatting, he told me the reasons he wanted me to come to Albion.
"I was in the presence of two legends, I'm sat there thinking I've got Bryan Robson telling me he wants me to come to his club. I think I was sold before I ever sat down to be honest."
After a couple of bad experiences with agents as a youth player - Carter was assigned Albion legend Regis as his agent prior to his West Brom move with Regis working for the Stellar Group.
He spent six years being represented by the ex Albion hero, who sadly passed away in 2018, and Carter has described what it was like to have a player with such stature as someone he could lean on and take advice from.
He explained: "I had been through a couple of bad experiences when I first broke through at Birmingham.
"And looking back that as a good thing as it taught me who to trust and to do my due diligence when picking one.
"I went to the Stellar group and Cyrille was part of the agents looking after the Midlands players, so I was lucky enough to have him as my agent and my go to for a good five to six years.
"He just knew everything, the ins and outs of playing, he had been on the other side of it, the business side so he knew how clubs worked and it was just what I needed.
"He was someone I could trust, and ultimately when it came to the West Brom move he knew the club inside out so gave me every bit of information I needed."
And asked whether Regis gave him more encouragement with it being West Brom who were the interested club, Carter added: "He was honest and had the affiliation with the club, but he made me feel comfortable and said it had to be right for me.
"But he did give me a nudge that way."
When the Baggies Broadcast meets Darren Carter is out on Thursday on Soundcloud, Spotify and Apple.
