Next West Brom manager: ex-Everton boss emerges as new front-runner after major Wicky update

An experienced Premier League manager has emerged as the new favourite for the vacant manager’s job at West Bromwich Albion after negotiations with former Young Boys head coach Raphaël Wicky were reported to have broken down.

The Daily Telegraph reported on Friday that West Brom had entered into negotiations with Swiss manager Wicky to replace Carlos Corberán after the Spaniard left Albion to join Valencia on Christmas Eve – but John Percy, the reporter behind the original story, has now claimed on X that Albion “have ended talks” with Wicky after he was unable to assemble his preferred backroom staff.

Some bookmakers have now installed former Burnley and Everton manager Sean Dyche as favourite for the job after he left Goodison Park last week after two years at the helm. Dyche, 53, twice achieved promotion from the Championship during his time at Burnley. He was previously heavily linked with the West Brom job in 2022 following the departure of Steve Bruce.

Will Sean Dyche take over at the Hawthorns?

Dyche has become available following his dismissal by new Everton owners The Friedkin Group, with David Moyes appointed as his successor over the weekend. Dyche helped Everton to avoid relegation twice over the course of his time in charge but leaves with the Toffees 16th in the Premier League.

Dyche has been in management since 2011 and has taken charge of both Watford and Burnley in the second tier, and his experience and track record of success in the Championship – and of keeping clubs out of the relegation zone in the Premier League – could make him an attractive candidate as sixth-placed Albion look to push for promotion.

The Northampton-born manager has yet to make any public comment since his sacking by Everton and there have been no confirmed reports of talks with West Brom, but his availability could come at a good time for the club if Wicky has been ruled out as a candidate. He has appeared at the top of the odds list with a number of bookmakers since the Wicky news broke.

The 47-year-old former Switzerland international, who has also take charge of Basel and Chicago Fire in the United States, had been the front-runner and is the only coach reported to have been interviewed in connection with the role at the Hawthorns so far, but it appears that chairman Shilen Patel will now look elsewhere.

Who else is in the running to manage West Brom?

Chris Brunt and Damia Abella are currently in joint interim charge of the Baggies but have led the team to just one win in five matches since Corberán’s departure, and the club will hope to find a permanent solution soon to ensure that they can maintain their place in the Championship play-off places.

Other names in the frame include René Hake, a Dutch coach who was among Erik ten Hag’s assistants at Manchester United prior to Ten Hag’s dismissal. Hake has extensive managerial experience in the Netherlands with teams including FC Twente and Utrecht. Former Stoke City and Plymouth Argyle manager Steven Schumacher has also been linked with the vacancy, as has Tony Mowbray, who is reportedly eager to return to management after receiving successful treatment for bowel cancer.

There have yet to be confirmed reports of talks with any managers other than Wicky, and Birmingham World understands that Albion’s search has extended across Europe, with experience in England not considered a major factor.