According to The Athletic, West Brom are in talks with Barnsley after selecting Valérien Ismaël as their preferred replacement for Sam Allardyce.
What’s the story?
Well, the Baggies have been managerless ever since Allardyce decided to resign, as he couldn’t see himself at the Hawthorns for the long term.
Since then, a number of names have been linked with the vacancy at West Brom, including Chris Wilder and David Wagner.
It was even said that Wilder had began to line up transfer targets.
However, it appears that the Baggies have finally settled on Ismaël as his preferred option.
The Telegraph claim West Brom are happy to pay the 45-year-old’s buyout clause of £2 million, and talks are ongoing with the Tykes.
Valérien Ismaël would be a great appointment
If West Brom can bring Ismaël to the Midlands, it would be a shrewd move.
The Frenchman has seriously impressed at Barnsley, turning them from relegation favourites into promotion challengers in no time.
Any manager that can do such a thing is bound to fascinate people, and it seems that West Brom have had their imagination captured by Ismaël.
Aside from his time at Barnsley, the Frenchman has enjoyed a very good managerial career to date.
Ismaël has won 143 of his 259 games as a manager, recording an impressive average of 1.81 points per game.
He has watched his sides score 473 goals in those outings, while conceding just 289 goals along the way.
If West Brom get this over the line, we’d fancy them for an immediate return to the Premier League, in all honesty.
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