‘Deal advanced’ – West Brom shift closer to next manager appointment but new Tottenham hitch arises
The biggest update yet as West Brom close in on their new head coach.
West Bromwich Albion are finally closing in on the appointment of their next manager following a search of nearly six weeks.
It’s been the best part of a month and a half since Tony Mowbray was relieved of his duties as Albion head coach. The Baggies, knowing their next hire could have huge implications on their quest to return to the Premier League, have been very patient in their approach.
Rather ironically, however, it appears the man who was first thrust in as the bookies’ favourite all those weeks ago will be the one West Brom appoint. That’s right, Albion are now closing in on Tottenham Hotspur assistant manager Ryan Mason.
BBC Sport reports talks are now ongoing with Mason, with discussions well underway. It’s stated that all parties are growing in confidence that an agreement can be struck, Mason now looking likely to accept his first managerial role.
There’s a hitch, however, as Mason’s Spurs contract runs until June 30 and West Brom will have to pay compensation if they want to hire him before that date. The report states Albion will need to make a formal approach to Spurs to release Mason from his contract early if an immediate start is their intention.
Barring any dramatic changes, significant progress is expected over the weekend and West Brom should be able to confirm Mason’s appointment on Monday or before. There’s also the possibility that more of Spurs’ first-team coaching staff make the move along with Mason, so the formalities of those contracts must be considered, too.
If West Brom do hire Mason, they will be effectively be following in the footsteps of local rivals Birmingham City. Blues conducted a lengthy managerial search of their own last summer and concluded that the then-Spurs assistant Chris Davies was the man for the job. Just like Mason, Davies hadn’t taken on a managerial role before then.
Albion will be hoping Mason can mirror Davies’ success as Birmingham had an incredible first season under their head coach. West Brom of course won’t be able to match the world record-breaking 111-point tally that Blues achieved in League One last term, but a play-off finish is yearned for and would be seen as a major box ticked.
Who is Ryan Mason?
Currently in talks with West Brom over the vacant head coach’s job, Mason is one of four assistant managers at Spurs alongside Matt Wells, Mile Jedinak and Nick Montgomery. The 33-year-old is the youngest of Ange Postecoglou’s understudies at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and was recently involved in Spurs’ Europa League triumph that ended a 17-year trophy drought.
Before taking on the assistant manager role at Spurs, Mason was a technical coach and, before that, the head of academy coaching. He’s been with Tottenham ever since he was forced to retire from professional football in 2018, aged just 26, when he was advised to hang up his boots a year on from suffering a fractured skull.
Although he briefly took interim charge following the sacking of Jose Mourinho in 2021, Mason has never entered permanent solo management. The former midfielder could soon change that, however, with West Brom pushing for his imminent appointment.