The manager of a Championship rival has emerged as the lead candidate to take over at West Brom.

Reports suggest that West Bromwich Albion’s hunt for a new manager has taken a significant step forward – and that the Baggies have already held talks with the head coach of a rival Championship club.

West Brom have been without a manager since Tony Mowbray’s frustrating second spell at the Hawthorns was brought to a premature end on Easter Monday following a 3-1 defeat to relegation-threatened Derby County.

The Baggies’ board seem determined to address the managerial vacancy as quickly as possible, and may have already identified their target to take over this summer, with several news reports suggesting that the club have already been in contact with current QPR manager Martí Cifuentes.

West Brom target Martí Cifuentes as next manager

42-year-old manager Cifuentes has been in charge of QPR since October 2023 and successfully steered the club away from Championship relegation in his first season at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium.

This year, he has led QPR to a lower mid-table finish, with the club sat 15th prior to the final game of the season, but a story from The Sun suggests that he is ready to leave the club due to concerns over the way the club’s directors are handling recruitment and the running of the club.

Should West Brom wish to make a formal approach for Cifuentes, however, they would need QPR’s permission and would be compelled to pay compensation for the Spaniard should he be appointed to succeed Mowbray.

Mowbray returned as manager in January after recovering from bowel cancer, taking over from Carlos Corberán after the Spanish coach was poached by La Liga side Valencia. Unfortunately, the former Sunderland and Blackburn Rovers manager, who also took charge between 2015 and 2017, struggled to maintain the Baggies’ push for a play-off place and was sacked following a run of five defeats in six matches.

That leaves West Brom managerless heading into the summer. Tottenham Hotspur coach Ryan Mason and former Wolves and Bournemouth manager Gary O’Neil had been touted as possible targets, but Cifuentes now appears to be the club’s preferred choice for the role.

Why Cifuentes might appeal to West Brom

The Spanish manager may only be 42 but has been in coaching for over two decades already, starting his career as a youth coach with Catalan side Sabadell before going on to coach several sides in the lower divisions of Spanish football. Jobs in Norway, Denmark and Sweden cemented his reputation as an up-and-coming force in European coaching, and he was appointed to the QPR vacancy in 2023 after an impressive season with Allsvenskan side Hammarby.

While Cifuentes hasn’t been able to take QPR too far up the table since inheriting last season’s relegation battle, poor recruitment and a lack of talent within his squad have arguably hampered his efforts. The Spaniard is noted for a high-tempo, possession-based playing style and for a detail-oriented approach to tactics, which may appeal to the West Brom board after a challenging three months under Mowbray.

It is not yet clear whether Cifuentes would be interested in the vacancy at the Hawthorns, or whether he will have interested from elsewhere should he decide to leave QPR.

Your next West Brom read: Pundit ‘shocked’ by West Brom’s Mowbray decision