How is ex-West Brom and Barnsley manager Valerien Ismael getting on these days? | OneFootball

The Frenchman has been out of work for several months now

There is a good chance that fans of Barnsley and West Brom may have rather differing views on the managerial abilities of Valerien Ismael.

When the Frenchman took charge of the Tykes in October 2020 - replacing Gerhard Struber - the club sat 22nd in the Championship table, with just three points and no wins from six league games.

Ismael, though, was able to quickly and dramatically turn things around at Oakwell, with Barnsley enjoying a remarkable run under their new manager.

By the end of the campaign, they had climbed all the way to fifth in the Championship, earning them a spot in the play-offs.

However, they missed out on promotion after defeat to Swansea City in the semi-finals, and Ismael then left the club in the summer of 2021, after less than a year in charge.

That saw him move to West Brom, who agreed a compensation package with Barnsley for the Frenchman, who signed a four-year contract at The Hawthorns.

Having just been relegated to the Championship, the Baggies will have been hoping for him to get them promoted back to the Premier League.

Things, though, did not work out in that way, with Ismael leaving West Brom by mutual consent after less than a year in charge in February 2022.

At the time, the club sat sixth in the second-tier standings, eight points adrift of the automatic promotion spots.

It is now over two-and-a-half years since Ismael left West Brom, and we've taken a look at what he's been up to since then, right here.

Valerien Ismael has had Besiktas and Watford stints

Positive starts were followed by a decline

After leaving the Baggies, the former centre-back was out of work for just under two months, before he took charge of Turkish giants Besiktas in late March 2022.

Ismael signed a contract with the club that was set to keep him there until the end of the 2022/23 season.

Having been eighth in the Turkish top-flight when he took over, Besiktas would eventually finish sixth at the end of that campaign.

A strong start to the campaign, with four wins and a draw in their first five league games, had the club top of the table.

However, that was then followed by a run of just one win in the next six in the league, saw them drop to fifth, and led to the sacking of Ismael.

He then remained out of work until the summer of 2023, when he returned to England to take charge of Watford.

Despite a poor start to the season that saw them win two of their first nine in the league, Ismael was given a new contract by the Hornets in October 2023, just a few months after joining.

Even with that show of faith though, Ismael did not last long at Vicarage Road, being sacked in early March 2024, after a run of just one win in ten games, leaving Watford 14th in the Championship.

Ex-West Brom and Barnsley boss still out of work

Ismael's next move is unclear

Since leaving the Hornets back in March, the Frenchman is so far yet to return to work, although he was recently linked to another job.

Back in September, it was reported that Ismael had emerged as a candidate to take over at Schalke, who are currently competing in the German second-tier.

However, it was subsequently claimed that the 49-year-old was quickly ruled out as a potential option for the club.

That was apparently due to the fact he had made himself unavailable, despite the fact he has not managed since his departure from Watford several months earlier.

With that in mind, supporters of the likes of Barnsley and West Brom, may well be intrigued to see what might come next for Ismael.