"An appealing choice" - West Brom backed to appoint veteran manager ASAP | OneFootball

We asked our West Brom fan pundit for his thoughts on the possibility of Tony Mowbray returning to the club

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

West Brom have been told to appoint a new manager urgently and that Tony Mowbray would be a suitable candidate at this stage, with it now being over three weeks since Carlos Corberan left.

Corberan left for Valencia on Christmas Eve, and the Baggies are still yet to appoint a permanent manager as his replacement, with a deal for Raphael Wicky falling through, while ex-Man United coach Rene Hake is no longer in the running.

However, Mowbray has reportedly held talks with the Albion hierarchy about a dramatic return to The Hawthorns, and the club could still mount a bid to appoint the 61-year-old, as per The Express & Star.

Mowbray was in charge of the Baggies between 2006 and 2009 and is much-loved at The Hawthorns after leading the club to the Championship title in 2008, and it appears he could make a shock return to the club this month after recovering from a period of ill health

Tony Mowbray verdict emerges after Raphael Wicky deal collapses

We asked our Baggies fan pundit, Callum Burgess, for his thoughts after it emerged that Mowbray was still in contention to take charge at The Hawthorns, and he believes that at this stage an appointment needs to be made, regardless of who it is.

Speaking to Football League World, Callum said: "With it being more than three weeks since Carlos Corberan left Albion for Valencia, it’s reaching that stage now where Albion fans will just want someone in place now after the move for Raphael Wicky fell through at one of the final hurdles.

“In regards to the link with Mowbray, he’s of course, someone supporters are very familiar with having been a former title-winning manager at Albion and in recent years he has done a great job at Blackburn and Sunderland, particularly at Sunderland, where he took them into the play-offs.

“He’s shown he can do really good work with young players, with the likes of Amad Diallo who he had on loan, amongst others.

“I think he’ll definitely be an appealing choice to Albion fans with his history at the club, but in regards to being the standalone top target, we should see if we can get a wider shortlist.

“There has been a large time-frame where we have supposedly been going through a lot of names before deciding on Raphael Wicky and with Rene Hake no longer in the running, it’ll be interesting to see who else we’ve got in mind.

“If it is just Mowbray, then Albion fans would be happy with it and at this stage I’d just be happy to have someone in place.”

West Brom appointing Tony Mowbray would be romantic, but it's a risk too

After recovering from cancer, it would be a romantic story should Mowbray return to management at West Brom, where he's so popular, but there are risks too.

If he failed at The Hawthorns and took the club backwards, then he runs the risk of ruining the legacy he built for himself during his first spell at the club, and he's been out of the game for the best part of a year too, so it may take him a while to get back into his stride.

West Brom are well-placed in the Championship table at the moment, sitting just outside the play-off places, and it would undoubtedly be an attractive move for the 61-year-old as he looks to get back into management, and most Albion supporters would welcome him back with open arms.

While he might not be the young, foreign manager that many supporters demand these days, Mowbray has shown himself to be an excellent manager at this level in the past, and he knows how to get the best out of his players.

Time is getting on for West Brom, and they've gone more than three weeks without a manager, so perhaps a short-term deal until the end of the season with the option to extend it if he improves could work for Mowbray.

It would certainly be a romantic story should the former Sunderland boss take charge at The Hawthorns, and he could just be the right appointment.