West Brom could hire great Corberan replacement who’s beaten Pep & Mourinho
In Chris Brunt’s first game as interim manager, West Bromwich Albion only managed a draw away from home.
Welsh veteran Joe Allen’s late goal prevented the Northern Irishman from winning the Championship for the second time in a row. Unfortunately, the Swansea City midfielder had different plans.
While Brunt has impressed since taking over from Carlos Corberan, it appears that the second-tier promotion contenders are focused on replacing him entirely.
According to @talkwba on X (previously Twitter), West Brom are in talks with former Young Boys manager Raphael Wicky to replace Corberan, which would be a surprising pick.
The Swiss manager, described as ‘highly regarded’ by the second-tier squad, would join the English game after success in his native Switzerland, as well as managing in the United States with the Chicago Fire.
While he has no experience with the tough demands of EFL football, the Baggies will hope he quickly adjusts to his new surroundings if a deal is to be secured, having already made a name for himself on these shores when he defeated Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City as Basel manager in 2018.
Wicky’s Basel team suffered their first home loss of the season, losing 2-1 to the confident hosts, rather than the battered and bruised City.
In the same Champions League run, Basel defeated Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United 1-0, with both English football titans being humiliated by the 47-year-old’s techniques.
Wicky was also a success in Switzerland as manager of Young Boys, leading the club to a Swiss League and Cup double during a very successful 2022/23 season.
As a result, everything points to him becoming a fantastic successor to Corberan’s throne in terms of getting more out of an underdog squad, just as the current Valencia manager did for the Baggies when he first arrived when they were near the bottom of the Championship.
Despite Corberan’s transformation of West Brom into regular play-off contenders, Wicky has more total victories as a manager than his rival, with 168 to 96, albeit with a huge bump of 77 more games.
Still, that victory rate of 52% cannot be dismissed after one look, with the 47-year-old eager to pick up more triumphs as a manager if the Hawthorns come calling soon.
When in charge of Young Boys, he frequently used the 4-2-3-1 system in addition to the more preferred 4-4-2 set-up. This will suit the current Baggies set-up brilliantly, with Tom Fellows a continuous threat down the wings while also providing the squad with a strong defensive structure.
It was always going to be a difficult task for West Brom to instantly seek out a dream successor, but in Wicky, the promotion aspirants may have struck gold on an unknown entity.
Leave a Reply