Next West Brom manager odds: Baggies eye raid on Championship rival

It’s been just over a week since West Brom boss Carlos Corberan left his role at the Hawthorns to take charge of La Liga side Valencia and the Baggies have won one, lost one and drawn one since then.

Coaches Chris Brunt, Damia Abella and Boaz Myhill were all put in caretaker charge for the busy Christmas period and were delighted to get their first win on New Year’s Day when they secured a 3-1 win over Preston North End.

The club sit sixth in the Championship table although they are already 10 points behind third-placed Sheffield United and 13 behind the league leaders Leeds but the job is a very attractive one.

Despite the wage budget being cut by as much as 30% in the summer the club did recoup compensation of between £3-4m after Valencia met the release clause in Corberan’s contract, so that could be a boost to the transfer kitty this January.

Swansea boss Luke Williams is currently being offered as the favourite for the role by football betting sites, who have him at 11/8 to swap South Wales for the Midlands.

He said there had been no contact from the club after he oversaw the Swans’ 4-0 thrashing at Portsmouth on New Year’s Day and ironically their next match is at home to the Baggies on Saturday.

Williams took charge of Swansea in January 2024, when he left Notts County to sign a three-and-a-half-year contract with the Championship side.

He previously impressed at the club as assistant to Russell Martin before he stepped out on his own at Meadow Lane, guiding County to promotion from the National League via the play-offs.

His former boss Martin, has also been linked with the vacant job at the Hawthorns, but his odds have been on the drift since reportedly turning down the position just before the turn of the year.

John Heitinga is currently being offered as the second favourite on betting apps at 7/2 but if he is to take his first managerial role then he has a big decision to make.

The former Everton and Holland midfielder is currently assistant coach to Arne Slot at Liverpool, who are sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League and Champions League table.

The Dutchman was previously first-team coach at West Ham United as assistant to David Moyes who he played under at Goodison Park.

As well as the usual suspects who have all been on the lists for the jobs at Millwall, Oxford, Plymouth and Stoke one new name is Igor Tudor, who has been priced as high as 3/1 on some betting sites.

He resigned as manager of Lazio in June after guiding them to a seventh-placed finish and qualification for the Europa League, although he was only there just less than three months.

This seems to be a common theme for the former Croatian defender who has also enjoyed spells in charge of Hajduk Split, PAOK, Kardemir Karabukspor, Galatasaray, Udinese, Hellas Verona and Marseille all in the last 11 years.

There would be no compensation to pay, which might make him more attractive than Williams and Heitinga, but fans perhaps shouldn’t get too attached!

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