Allardyce outlines Appleton and Wilder to replace him at West Brom
Sam Allardyce has been asked for his input on who West Brom should hire to replace him as the club’s manager, according to BBC Sport journalist Simon Stone.
Writing on the BBC Sport website, Stone reports ex-Sheffield United manager and Lincoln City’s Michael Appleton are under consideration by the Baggies.
It is understood that chief executive Xu Ke and technical director Luke Dowling are leading the process to replace Big Sam, who announced he’ll be quitting his job at The Hawthorns at the end of the season on Wednesday night.
Allardyce will also reportedly play a role in hunting down his successor and Stone claims that “Wilder and Appleton fit the template outlined by” the outgoing Baggies boss.
Appleton’s name in the mix
It seems unlikely that West Brom will make a move for Appleton based on reports we’ve seen elsewhere.
Sky Sports has claimed that “West Brom’s recruitment process will now focus primarily on out-of-work managers” and that is something Albion fans have grown accustomed to over the years as the last time the club hired a manager from another club was Roberto Di Matteo from MK Dons in 2009.
It is understood that any compensation fee paid for a manager who’s in a job – like Appleton – would be deducted from the transfer budget for the summer window.
And with funds tight at The Hawthorns, Dowling and Ken will no doubt want to avoid that.
Of course, everything could be thrown up in the air should Guochuan Lai end up selling the Baggies at some point.
The Chinese owner, who’s failed to properly invest any money into the squad since his takeover in 2016, could end up moving on and that is bound to have an impact on the recruitment of Albion’s next manager.
We’re gutted that Big Sam won’t be at The Hawthorns next season and we’re even more gutted the club is clearly still being held back by a lack of investment from the very top.
In other West Brom news, this 23-year-old could be released by Albion next month with a Championship move on the cards.
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