West Brom eye 47-year-old manager who was linked with Sunderland last year
Raphael Wicky, the former head coach of the BSC Young Boys, is being considered by West Bromwich Albion for their managerial opening.
Sky Sports’ Lyall Thomas claims this, tying the 47-year-old to a possible January transfer to The Hawthorns.
In May 2024, Wicky was strongly linked to the Sunderland position, but a transaction never materialised.
With eight points from the final 15 points available, Albion is currently in sixth place in the Championship, ahead of teams like Bristol City and Blackburn Rovers, and is in the middle of a play-off race.
They are without a head coach despite their respectable ranking because Carlos Corberan left on Christmas Eve for La Liga team Valencia.
If Wicky arrives in the West Midlands, he has a tough act to follow in building on the strong foundation laid by Corberan, who did a superb job in challenging circumstances.
Raphael Wicky under consideration for West Brom on
According to the previously mentioned rumour on X (formerly Twitter), Wicky is among the last five choices on West Brom’s shortlist for the position of head coach.
In addition, he says Rene Hake is still there since the Baggies’ management had discussions with the Dutchman, as disclosed by Fabrizio Romano yesterday.
Furthermore, this notion is supported by Sky Sports’ Live Blog (09/01, 08:46), which states that Hake and Wicky are the last two contenders being considered, eliminating Blackburn manager John Eustace from the race.
Albion supporters will now be hoping that the process ends quickly, since the team probably wants to name a new manager before their upcoming league match against Stoke City on January 18.
Rapahel Wicky’s path to date
Wicky was a reasonably successful football player for 15 years, playing for teams like Werder Bremen, Atletico Madrid, and Hamburger SV before starting his management career. He also made 75 appearances for his home nation of Switzerland, where he competed in the European Championships in 1996 and 2004.
After retiring, he progressed through Basel’s junior system before taking over as head coach full-time in 2017. Despite his brief time, he accomplished a great deal by leading his team to an incredible 2-1 victory over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.
Most recently, he served as the head coach of BSC Young Boys, where he achieved an impressive points-per-game average of 1.97. Under his leadership, the team enjoyed a highly successful season in 2022-23, securing a domestic double by winning both the Swiss Super League and the Swiss Cup.
| Raphael Wicky Young Boys Record | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Played | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals For | Goals Against | PPG |
| 88 | 51 | 20 | 17 | 193 | 83 | 1.97 |
| Source: Transfermarkt | ||||||
Wicky, who was fired the following year due to a series of subpar performances, is currently looking for work and it looks like West Brom could be his next destination.
Even if he lacks a lot of experience, his work at YB indicates that he possesses certain qualities of a great coach, and if given the chance, you could definitely see him succeeding at The Hawthorns.
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