According to the Daily Mail, Birmingham City manager, Garry Monk has emerged as the leading candidate to take over the permanent managerial job at West Brom at the end of the season.
The Baggies are on the lookout for a new permanent manager, with caretaker boss James Shan currently filling in the role at the helm of affairs following the dismissal of Darren Moore last month.
West Brom have confirmed a place in the promotion-playoffs, having won six of their last nine games in the Championship under the stewardship of Shan, but the club hierarchy are still in the hunt for a new manager to take charge in the summer, irrespective of where they play their football next season.
The Baggies are believed to be convinced that they can still lure Monk away from their Midlands rivals Birmingham City even if they fail to make it to the Premier League through the playoffs. Preston Noth End’s Alex Neil was one of the frontrunners for the job but West Brom’s pursuit of the Scotsman ended when he signed a new deal at his current club. (h/t Daily Mail)
West Brom are reportedly impressed by the kind of work that Monk has done at Birmingham City. The 40-year-old has managed to steer the Blues to safety in the Championship this season, despite being hit with a nine-point deduction for breaking profitability and sustainability rules.
Birmingham currently sit 17th in the standings, 11 points clear of the drop zone, and they have a chance of finishing 16th if they manage to win their last game against Reading and Stoke City lose to already-promoted Sheffield United.
The former Swansea City, Leeds United and Middlesbrough manager took charge of Birmingham towards the end of last season at a time when the club were going through a lot of problems on and off the field. However, Monk showed his acumen and charisma to handle the situation with tact and diplomacy, managing to restore a sense of calmness and stability amongst the players and the club faithful.
Monk’s most successful spell as a manager came at Swansea City earlier in his career when he guided the Swans to an 8th-place finish in the Premier League in the 2014-15 season.
It was under his stewardship that Swansea completed the double over Man United and Arsenal in the Premier League, becoming only the third team in the history of the Premier League to register victories both home and away over the two clubs.
To put things into perspective, Monk has proven his abilities as a manager at the highest level and West Brom should do everything in their power to bring him to the Hawthorns at the end of the season. His exploits earlier in his career at Swansea and presently at Birmingham have been truly commendable and the Baggies should look at him as the right man to take the club forward.
Monk is someone who knows how to extract the best out of the existing players at the club, while identifying players who can offer good value for money in the transfer window. He doesn’t believe in extravagant expenditure in the market but he knows exactly which players to target and he rarely makes a mistake with his dealings.
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West Brom would have a better chance of landing Monk if they manage to make a return to the Premier League in the first time of asking. However, if they fail to win the playoffs, Monk would be their best bet to guide them to a promotion-winning season next time around.