Former West Brom midfielder Carlton Palmer thinks Chris Wilder did not want to work under a sporting director at the Hawthorns, hence the breakdown in talks to take him there.
Wilder was said to be the frontrunner to replace Sam Allardyce back in May, with the Mirror claiming that he was the Baggies’ No.1 choice.
However, West Brom have since cooled their interest and moved on, paving the way for ex-Huddersfield Town manager David Wagner to come in.
And Palmer has put that down to an unwillingness on Wilder’s part to work with sporting director Luke Dowling.
Speaking exclusively to TT about the situation, the ex-West Brom player said:
“I don’t think Chris Wilder would work with a director of sport at West Brom, so that’s where the problem would come in. That’s why Chris Wilder ended up leaving Sheffield United.
“Maybe when they were talking and he was asking about his freedom to run the footballing side of it his way, I think that’s probably where the talks have broken down.”
While some West Brom fans may be disappointed with this development given that Wilder is a manager who really proved himself at Sheffield United, Wagner is hardly a terrible alternative.
Like Wilder, the German also has a Premier League promotion on his CV, which obviously bodes well for a club who have just been relegated.