George Overhill

Wed 7 June 2023 12:55, UK

Leeds United have “opened the door” to bring back West Brom manager Carlos Corberan after CEO Angus Kinnear spent last week gauging the interest of managerial candidates, according to The Athletic.

The Albion boss is once again being linked to the Elland Road job, having signed a new contract to end speculation in February.

However, there is a release clause in that contract, reported to be £2million [Daily Mail, 1 June], and it appears that informal contact has already been made with the 40-year-old by his previous club over a potential return – Corberan spent three years at Elland Road as a coach between 2017 and 2020 prior to becoming manager at Huddersfield.

Phil Hay’s report in The Athletic on Wednesday (7 June) says: “Last week, Leeds’ chief executive, Angus Kinnear, began assessing and approaching potential managerial candidates with a view to establishing whether they were interested and what their demands would be.

“The club wanted to be in a position where a viable shortlist was in place for the moment a formal offer could be made.”

With regards to an approach for the Baggies boss he adds: “Leeds, meanwhile, have opened the door to a move for Carlos Corberan, their former academy coach who manages West Bromwich Albion.

“Corberan does not have promotion on his CV — at least not as a manager in his own right — but he took Huddersfield Town to the Championship play-offs on a limited budget in 2022 and he arrested a poor start by West Brom this season to guide the club to within three points of the play-offs.

“His contract at The Hawthorns — signed in February at a time when he was being linked with Leeds in the aftermath of Marsch’s sacking — contains a release clause.”

Ominous

The report doesn’t specify whether Corberan gave positive signals to the Leeds CEO but the fact that he has been named as one of three primary options, alongside Scott Parker and Steven Gerrard, suggests he hasn’t been scratched from the list.

If there is a release clause as small as £2million in his contract then it would leave West Brom powerless to resist if the Spaniard is minded to move on this time.

The recently-relegated side are tipped to have their budget boosted this summer by the takeover by 49ers Enterprises, so that price would represent a bargain if they believe Corberan is the man to stage a promotion push.

And unfortunately for Albion they may well do, as it appears West Brom might have fallen between the cracks between the manager demonstrating he can lead a surge towards the play-offs after reviving the season at The Hawthorns after arriving in late October, and actually making it all the way to promotion.

Had the former Olympiacos boss been in charge from the start of the season then the form across the campaign would have surely seen the Baggies at least come close to their goal of a Premier League return.

But instead, they fell just short and are left in the second tier facing major financial uncertainty. The season ultimately wasn’t enough but still represents a massive tick on Corberan’s CV to clubs looking to poach him.

He snubbed interest once this year to stick to his task at The Hawthorns and fans will be desperately hoping he does it again, but if he senses his squad is about to be gutted he might think twice.

In other West Brom news, the Baggies manager “needs another challenge” and the Leeds link “makes a lot of sense” according a BBC journalist.