Carlos Corberan: Clarity on West Brom boss amid Valencia talk
Reports in Spain are linking Carlos Corberan with a return to the country with one of their biggest clubs.
West Brom manager Carlos Corberan is reportedly a target for Valencia who have sacked their manager today.
Deportes COPE Valencia reports that the Baggies boss is the front-runner for the vacancy at the Mestalla Stadium. Ruben Baraja was relieved of his duties on Monday (December 23) following a poor start to the campaign which has them battling for their top-flight status.
Talks are reportedly at an advanced stage according to the Spanish outlet, who will have to pay the buy-out clause in Corberan's contract which is rumoured to be around £4m. The 41-year-old is under contract to West Brom until the summer of 2027, and despite being linked with several top-flight jobs in England during his tenure, he has remained loyal to the club.
Transfer insider EyaWeGew responded to the rumours, however, that an approach had been made by Valencia. They said that whilst Corberan's agent had been informed of their interest, there was nothing directly to the club made regarding an offer.
West Brom boss' stance on speculation
Corberan has most recently been linked with the managerial vacancies at both Leicester City and Southampton, with the latter said to be put off by the compensation required to appoint him. With a new club now searching for a new manager, offering a potential route back into Spanish football, rumours will continue to swirl until Valencia names a new manager.
In recent weeks, Corberan has reaffirmed his commitment to West Brom. He believes talk of him going to other clubs is 'disrespectful'. Speaking to BBC Radio West Midlands, he said: "For me, it is disrespectful for this great club and our amazing fans to be talking about something that is not related to West Bromwich Albion.
"Sometimes I feel that if you cut to say, 'I only focus on the game' and I don't talk about anything else - there can be speculation about this."
"I can only tell you that my full focus is to prepare the next game," he added.
"I don't like that our fans or anyone else at this club can feel any type of disrespect with all of these rumours that can appear.
"Because there are things I cannot control and I cannot talk about things I cannot control."
Carlos Corberan's history in Spain and the state of Valencia
Valencia will be familiar to Corberan as during his playing career, he played for their youth teams. He opted to retire however and focused on coaching, working with Villarreal, before heading to Al-Ittihad, and getting his first job in senior-level management with Doxa in the Cypriot First Division.
His other jobs included Ermis in Cyprus, before heading to England where he'd take charge of Leeds United's under-23s team, combining his role as first-team coach with Marcelo Bielsa.
Valencia are six-time La Liga winners, and have also won a European Cup Winners' Cup as well as a UEFA Cup. They have also lifted the Copa del Rey a total of eight games but have found themselves in mid-table or below over the past five seasons.
This season, they’ve won just twice in 17 league games, finding themselves in 19th, four points from safety. In February 2023, club icon Baraja had returned to the club in which he played for a decade, steered them to safety after being appointed. Last season he guided them to a ninth-placed finish in his first and only full-term, but has been unable to prevent a slump this year.
Football is on pause in Spain until the New Year, and so Valencia at least has over a week or so to identify a new manager. Their next game comes on Friday, January 3, when they host Champions League winners Real Madrid.