Slavisa Jokanovic is 8/13 to become West Bromwich Albion’s next permanent manager following the sacking of Darren Moore at the weekend.
With Albion sitting fourth in the Championship, and trading at an unbackable [1.01] for a top six finish that would put them in the end of season play-offs, the post at the Hawthornes is an attractive vacancy.
Indeed, the position Moore left the club in just under a year after taking over is one reason why fans were left angry and surprised his dismissal.
Jokanovic ticks all the boxes
Jokanovic got Fulham promoted to the Premier League via the Championship play-offs last season, so his expertise should appeal to the Baggies board. The club are, at the time of writing, in talks with the Serb.
What happens if West Brom do go up under Jokanovic will be of more concern, however, as he left Fulham in a terrible state, in part due to his poor recruitment and basic inability to stop the team conceding goals.
Still, he would bring an attractive brand of football and, for a club who sacked Tony Pulis because they found his tactics too negative, Jokanovic could be a good fit.
Alex Neil leads list of other candidates
Alex Neil is next in the betting at 6/4. It’d be a surprise to see him appointed, as his Preston North End side sit seven places below West Brom, but he would have better resources to work with at the Hawthorns.
Neil did a decent job, guiding Norwich to the Premier League via the play-offs in 2015. They went down under him the following season but Neil remains a promising manager.
Beyond that, Gary Rowett, Derek McInnes and Lee Johnson are all 14/1, followed by Nigel Pearson at 16/1 and a clutch of names at 20/1 which includes David Moyes and David Wagner.
Source: Betfair UK English Championship
