West Brom next manager latest: ex-Chelsea man joins front-runners as Portsmouth boss responds

West Bromwich Albion are still on the search for their next head coach, three weeks after relieving Tony Mowbray of his duties.

The Baggies confirmed Mowbray had been sacked after the disappointing 3-1 defeat to Derby County on Easter Monday, a result that was enough to end all chances of finishing in the Championship play-off positions. It was a great shame that it didn’t work out for Mowbray as he’s loved at The Hawthorns for leading Albion to the Championship title back in 2007/08.

Mowbray’s second spell wasn’t anywhere near as successful as he lost eight of his 17 matches in charge, winning just five and drawing the remaining four. The 61-year-old clearly retained his passion and adoration for the Baggies but football is a results business and the ownership opted to move in a different direction.

Who are the contenders to be West Brom’s next manager?

It awaits to be seen exactly what said direction will end up being, as Albion are taking their time to appoint Mowbray’s successor. Tottenham Hotspur first-team coach Ryan Mason has been the bookies’ favourite since the beginning but there have been no indications of an approach just yet. Marti Cifuentes was briefly linked when he was placed on gardening leave by Queens Park Rangers, though there’s been no movement there either.

Then there’s Portsmouth’s John Mousinho, who was rather suddenly drawn in as one of the new bookies’ favourites last week. The Pompey manager has done a brilliant job at Fratton Park, leading his team to promotion from League One a year ago and then securing their Championship status with a 16th-placed this season just gone.

It appears Mousinho isn’t in contention, however, and the 39-year-old confirmed himself recently that he’s committed to Pompey. “Genuinely, my mindset is I’d like to have a long, successful career at Portsmouth,” Mousinho told our sister publication, The News, Portsmouth.

“I still feel incredibly grateful to the club for taking a chance on me and a risk on me in the first place. I’ll never forget that. We can talk about my ambitions and the club’s ambitions matching up in the future, but this is a club that went and took a risk on me that no one else did. There’s that alignment there, in terms of what we’re trying to achieve.”

Former Chelsea coach among West Brom frontrunners

With Mason waiting in the wings, Cifuentes unlikely and Mousinho a non-runner, other potential candidates are emerging. As much as Albion’s future remains unclear, there could be something brewing in the background as silence can often mean action taking place, especially at West Brom.

Minnesota FC manager Eric Ramsay is now one of the frontrunners as speculation emerged a few days ago that Albion had spoken to him to gauge if there’s any interest in a move to The Hawthorns. Ramsay is now the bookies’ fourth favourite to join Albion at 4/1.

Ramsay, just 33 years of age, began his coaching career with Swansea City under-18s before moving on to an academy role at Shrewsbury Town. He then moved to Chelsea, where he was the assistant manager for the under-23 side for two years. Ramsay then left the Blues for a senior coaching role at Manchester United and a part-time gig as the Wales assistant manager.

Appointed by Minnesota in March 2024, Ramsay has become immensely popular at the Major League Soccer club. The Welshman has won 23 of his 49 matches in charge to date, drawing 10 and losing 16. Ramsay recently made the headlines for guiding Minnesota to a huge 4-1 victory over Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.