"The right time" - Ex-West Brom player backs Sean Dyche and Tony Mowbray in new manager hunt | OneFootball

Pundit Carlton Palmer has suggested who should be the next West Brom manager after a deal for Raphael Wicky broke down.

Pundit and former West Bromwich Albion player Carlton Palmer has backed Sean Dyche and Tony Mowbray to be leading candidates for the Albion job after the move for Raphael Wicky broke down earlier this week.

The Baggies were set to appoint the former Basel and Young Boys head coach after reaching an advanced stage of talks, but issues over Wicky’s coaching staff collapsed any deal.

According to Lewis Cox at the Express & Star, a goalkeeping coach was unable to secure a visa, while Wicky’s assistant manager wasn’t prepared to relocate to The Hawthorns, so a move was ruled out altogether.

The Baggies hotseat is still proving to be an attractive proposition with the club occupying a top-six spot heading into their weekend home clash with Stoke City.

However, such a process has delayed any transfer activity as Sporting Director Andrew Nestor reopens discussions with other candidates, and Palmer has issued his thoughts about who the Black Country outfit should be targeting as Carlos Corberan’s successor.

Carlton Palmer backs Sean Dyche and Tony Mowbray to be considered for West Brom post

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, Palmer discussed the current options Albion have to target after moving on from Wicky, singling out Dyche and Mowbray as appealing alternatives.

Palmer said: “It’s a very difficult situation West Brom find themselves in, they have a very talented squad and have a chance of securing another play-off place.

“I’m a really big fan of Tony Mowbray, he’s recovered from cancer, he’s a great coach and a great person. I’m also a big fan of Sean Dyche, who has been extremely unlucky to lose his job at Everton despite a poor start to the season.

“It will be difficult to convince Sean Dyche to come to West Brom as there are issues over money and that’s why Carlos Corberan left as he wasn’t able to bring in the players he wanted, but the likes of Dyche may be able to use his contacts to get some loan players in.”

Palmer added: “We know how good of a coach Tony Mowbray is and how well he works with young players, but it’s tricky to decide as we don’t know the circumstances around the finances in terms of player recruitment.

“If you’re a manager, it seems the right time to go in with the transfer window open and if they can bring a striker into this talented squad, then they certainly will be good enough to get into the play-offs.”

The hierarchy at West Brom will obviously be slightly embarrassed to be reopening talks with candidates who weren’t first choice for the role.

Nevertheless, Sean Dyche and Tony Mowbray are both high-profile people who have the potential to take the club forward, but both appointments do come with a risk.

With Dyche, there are concerns among the Albion faithful about his playing style, with fears it may be a very similar way to the football seen under Carlos Corberan. Dyche will have to tweak his approach if he drops down to the Championship and strike a balance between defensive solidity and front-footed football to appease the Baggies supporters.

With Mowbray, he is undoubtedly loved by the Albion faithful for his previous stint at the club and has such an impressive Championship pedigree, but this job is a mighty one to take on so shortly after coming back from a long-term illness.

Questions will be raised over whether Mowbray could handle such a strenuous job at The Hawthorns in his first return to management, but it could be worth the gamble given his past affiliation with the club.

One thing that is for certain though is that West Brom need to make a managerial appointment quickly to give themselves enough time to attack the January transfer window and be well-equipped to take on a hectic second half of the Championship season.