Xu Ke not present at Valerien Ismael’s first West Brom press conference
West Brom unveiled Valerien Ismael to the media on Monday afternoon as his reign begins at The Hawthorns.
The Baggies finally replaced Sam Allardyce with the Frenchman last week, after more than a month of hunting the right man.
Xu Ke took charge of the process after Luke Dowling left the club, and it was Ismael who benefitted from that.
Despite his major role in the process, it appeared as though he others things on his plate this afternoon.
Express and Star journalist Joseph Masi was at the press conference and shared if Ke was present alongside Ismael on his personal Twitter account.
“Ismael has arrived,” he wrote.
“Took the time to shake everybody’s hand. Head of Comms Ian Skidmore next to him. No Ken.”
High press.
Ismael took centre-stage this afternoon, and rightly so.
The former Barnsley man promised to bring high-intensity football to The Hawthorns, something that has been missing for years.
After the arrival of Alex Mowatt, we can surely expect more signings through the door too as we prepare to jump back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
At Barnsley, they often pressed high and thrived on counter-attacking situations, something he insisted will change at West Brom.
Ismael wants the Baggies to keep more possession of the ball, and he expects that to happen with the quality on show.
Mowatt will be key to that after already working with the new boss, and we can’t wait to see how they both get on next season; one month to go.
In other West Brom news, Spotted: ‘Elite’ Baggies academy talent in senior training with Valerien Ismael