West Bromwich Albion have identified Brentford manager Dean Smith as a replacement for Alan Pardew once Premier League relegation is confirmed.
Have West Brom simply given up on Premier League survival and accepted their fate?
The Baggies are eight points adrift at the bottom of the table and almost certain to drop into the second tier for the first time since 2010.
But according to The Mirror, West Brom have no intention of sacking Alan Pardew despite their dire situation as the club’s Chinese owners do not want to take another substantial financial hit by paying off the 56-year-old’s contract so soon after hiring him to replace Tony Pulis.
Pardew, then, is stuck until the end of the season, but at least the doomed Baggies have lined up a potential replacement, according to The Telegraph – the Brentford boss Dean Smith.
Now, on paper, Smith would be a sensible appointment for a side set to slide into the second tier. After five years at Walsall, the 46-year-old was parachuted into Griffin Park after the failed Marinus Dijkhuizen experiment in 2015 and Brentford have finished in the top half in each of his two seasons in charge.
They are 11th as things stand and, when on form, play some of the most free-flowing football in the division, providing excitement West Brom fans could only dream of.
You would think, then, that Smith would be a popular figure amongst Brentford fans, but, in a potential warning to West Brom, apparently not.
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