West Brom eyeing ex-Man United coach as Ryan Mason pressure ramps up | OneFootball

West Bromwich Albion could be joining another Midlands club in holding interest in the former Middlesbrough boss as pressure heaps on Ryan Mason.

West Bromwich Albion manager Ryan Mason is under serious pressure at The Hawthorns, and the former Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick could be in line to replace him.

A 2-1 home defeat against Bristol City on Boxing Day has increased the pressure on the West Bromwich Albion manager Ryan Mason, with fresh reports now confirming that the club could have identified a potential successor in the form of the former Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick.

The defeat was West Brom's fourth in their last five games, leaving them in a lowly 16th place in the Championship table, ten points from the play-offs but only six above the relegation places. Consistency has been an issue for Albion all season, and their recent downturn in form has left Mason fighting for his job after his team was booed from the pitch following their latest defeat.

But West Brom may not be alone in their interest in Carrick, who was sacked by Middlesbrough at the end of the 2024-25 season after taking his team to 10th place in the Championship.

West Bromwich Albion & Birmingham City may both fancy Michael Carrick as a replacement for their under-fire managers

Football Insider has reported that West Bromwich Albion have identified Michael Carrick as a potential replacement for Mason, but that they might not be alone in their interest in the former Manchester United and England star.

They report that, "West Brom have joined Birmingham City by expressing an interest in Michael Carrick." The Blues manager Chris Davies is under similar pressure to Mason following a run of five games without a win which continued with a patchy 1-1 draw against Derby County at St Andrew's on Boxing Day.

Birmingham were just one place and two points above West Brom in the Championship table following the Boxing Day round of fixtures, leaving Davies in a precarious position as the Blues' manager.

There have long been calls for the Baggies to relieve Mason of his duties following a mixed start to his Hawthorns tenure, in which the side have scarcely resembled potential play-off contenders.

Pressure is growing on Davies, too, both internally and externally, and it appears as though the two West Midlands rivals could go toe-to-toe in the race to install Mason if results fail to pick up.

Michael Carrick's Middlesbrough record makes him an appealing choice for other Championship clubs

With the January transfer window due to open, this is a crucial point of the season for clubs who may be considering making a managerial change. There are clearly benefits to making such a change before making changes to the playing personnel throughout the first month of the new year.

That Michael Carrick is an appealing choice as a replacement isn't a great surprise. First appointed by Middlesbrough in October 2022, Carrick had an immediate impact at The Riverside Stadium, winning the Championship's Manager of the Month award at the end of his first full calendar month in charge of the team.

Carrick steered Boro to fourth place in the Championship and the play-offs at the end of his first season in charge of the club, before losing narrowly to Coventry City in the semi-finals of the play-offs. But his two seasons following this were more a matter of diminishing returns.

Boro finished 2023-24 in 8th place in the table. They spent much of the 2024-25 season in the play-off positions before tailing off, with a run of just one win in their final six matches dropping them to 10th place in the table. For all this, though, Carrick's removal from the managerial position at The Riverside Stadium at the end of last season was considered something a surprise.

Both West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City have had first halves to their season which have been somewhat underwhelming, and both are reaching the point in their season where they need to decide whether to stick or twist over their current managerial incumbent. The interest of another club could even prompt either to pull that particular trigger sooner than they may otherwise have done.

With both clubs facing home fixtures to finish off 2025, the pressure on both Ryan Mason and Chris Davies could reach boiling point at The Hawthorns and St Andrew's, should West Brom or Birmingham not end their year on more of a high than they've spent most of its final month.