Southampton are being proactive in their survival push by considering Fulham boss Jokanovic while Premier League rivals West Brom stick with Alan Pardew.
Alan Pardew was expected to be gone if West Bromwich Albion lost against Huddersfield Town and Watford. They did, going down 1-0 at Vicarage Road on Saturday after a 2-1 home defeat to the Terriers.
Tony Pulis, for obvious reasons, is not under consideration.
But while there may be a shortage of grizzled top flight veterans on the market right now, that does not mean there are no options. Just ask Southampton, who the Mirror claim have identified Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic as the potential successor to Mauricio Pellegrino.
Now, why Jokanovic has never got his chance in the Premier League is anyone’s guess. He guided Watford to promotion in 2015 but left shortly after with he himself claiming in the Standard that the club’s trigger-happy owners did not trust him to manage the club in the top flight.
Since then, Jokanovic has turned Fulham into arguably the most entertaining side outside the Premier League. Inspired by Tom Cairney and 17-year-old Ryan Sessegnon, they were the Championship’s joint top scorers last season with 86 strikes but lost in the play-off semi finals.
Fulham are well placed to go one better this time around though. After a slow start, they have soared up to fourth and no side in the league has picked up more points during the last six games (14), which included wins against Aston Villa, Derby County and runaway leaders Wolves.
No wonder Southampton are keen. Jokanovic could breath confidence into a stale attacking unit and, given the chance, could have the same impact at a West Brom side boasting gifted yet out-of-form attackers.
There are options out there. It is just whether West Brom are brave enough to give them a chance.
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