‘Slaven Bilic’ – Who should replace Valerien Ismael if West Brom sack him? The verdict | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Valerien Ismael’s future at West Brom is looking increasingly in doubt after picking up just five points from their last seven Championship matches.

The Baggies currently find themselves at risk of dropping out of the play-off picture altogether at this current rate, with Ismael’s lack of ‘Plan B’ certainly contributing to the concerns amongst the support.

that the Baggies hierarchy are pondering over the future of Ismael, with a large chunk of the season left to play.

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Saido Berahino?

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West Brom are eight points from the automatic promotion positions but will be looking over their shoulder as a result of current form.

Three of our writers here at FLW have shared their thoughts regarding who the next Baggies manager could be, if West Brom are to part company with Ismael…

Alfie Burns

I’ve mentioned elsewhere that I feel the lack of standout candidates floating around would tempt me to stick by Ismael, but that doesn’t seem like it will be the club’s view.

The more Middlesbrough motor on under Chris Wilder, the more I think that West Brom made a serious mistake not bringing him in when they had the opportunity.

That ship has sailed and there isn’t anyone that jumps out as an obvious candidate to replace Ismael, which is obviously a bit of a worry.

West Brom might go with an internal appointment, as they did back in 2018/19 in the Championship, just to tide them through until the end of the season.

You feel the summer will present a better opportunity to land a more suited appointment.

Marcus Ally

Style of play is obviously an issue for West Brom supporters, therefore that would be close to the heart of the board when making a decision on who to bring in as a potential replacement for the Frenchman.

Daniel Farke would certainly offer a more aesthetically pleasing brand of football, and the German has two Championship titles on his CV.

However, there is the stumbling block that he was announced as the new Krasnodar manager under a month ago and could take some persuading to swap the Russian Premier League for a demanding Championship promotion push.

In the first year of parachute payments, they should have the financial muscle as they have demonstrated by bringing Daryl Dike to the club this month.

Toby Wilding

It feels like looking into a reunion with Slaven Bilic should not be ruled out by the Baggies if they are to sack Ismael.

The Croatian was somewhat unfortunate to be sacked by West Brom first time around, and he obviously knows how to win promotion with the club, having done so in his first season in charge at The Hawthorns.

Given he is currently out of work after leaving Beijing Guoan earlier this month, this could be a quick appointment for the club to make, and the fact he already knows the setup means it shouldn’t take long for him to settle in.

With West Brom fans although chanting Bilic’s name in recent weeks, you get the feeling he would be a popular appointment in the stands as well, which could be important for the club after some understandable recent frustrations over results, and a relatively quiet January transfer window.