West Brom made a move for ex-West Ham boss Slaven Bilic, according to reports.
According to the Daily Mail, Slaven Bilic has turned down an approach to speak to West Bromwich Albion about becoming their new manager.
The Baggies parted ways with Tony Pulis on Monday morning, less than 48 hours after the 4-0 home defeat to Chelsea over the weekend.
Pulis had won just two in his last 21 Premier League games for the Baggies, and owner Guochuan Lai clearly decided that enough was enough, ending the Welshman’s three-year stay at The Hawthorns.
Slaven Bilic and Tony Pulis
West Brom must now look to find a replacement for Bilic, and whilst Alan Pardew is the favourite with bookmakers, a shock name was added into the mix on Thursday – Slaven Bilic.
Bilic, 49, was sacked as West Ham United manager earlier this month after a torrid start to the season, with a visibly stressed Bilic relieved of his duties after a 4-1 home defeat to Liverpool.
The Croatian’s first season at West Ham was positive though, and the Daily Mail claim that Lai approached Bilic about opening talks over a move to The Hawthorns – but Bilic feels he needs time away from football to be with his family and recover from a tough time at West Ham.
Bilic’s snub has grabbed the attention of both West Brom and West Ham fans, with Baggies supporters taking to Twitter to express a wide range of emotions, from being stunned that he turned down the approach, to joy that he won’t be heading to The Hawthorns, to some being ‘gutted’ that he won’t replace Pulis.
Hammers supporters also took to Twitter, claiming that he could’ve proven himself at West Brom – but hopefully not at West Ham’s expense – though some think West Brom must be desperate if they are looking towards the former Hammers boss.
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