West Brom are embarking on hunt for a new manager after deciding to part ways with Tony Mowbray last month. WBA had named the 61-year-old as the permanent replacement for Carlos Corberan three months prior but poor results prompted change.
A big summer lays ahead of the Baggies with a new boss needed and a fairly sizeable recruitment drive likely ahead.
Plenty of names have been linked with the post at The Hawthorns and the hope will be that they can make up good ground in their search now that their 2024/25 campaign has come to a close.
Now, it has been claimed that one man on the radar at West Brom is Stockport County chief Dave Challinor.
Reporting for EFL Analysis, Graeme Bailey revealed that Challinor’s work at Edgeley Park has seen him emerge as a potential option for WBA in their new boss search. Spurs coach Ryan Mason remains the top target for WBA, but Challinor is among the others under consideration.
Challinor, 49, is embarking on a League One play-off campaign with Stockport County after finishing 3rd in the table.
Plenty of names have been linked with the post at The Hawthorns and the hope will be that they can make up good ground in their search now that their 2024/25 campaign has come to a close.
Now, it has been claimed that one man on the radar at West Brom is Stockport County chief Dave Challinor.
Reporting for EFL Analysis, Graeme Bailey revealed that Challinor’s work at Edgeley Park has seen him emerge as a potential option for WBA in their new boss search. Spurs coach Ryan Mason remains the top target for WBA, but Challinor is among the others under consideration.
Challinor, 49, is embarking on a League One play-off campaign with Stockport County after finishing 3rd in the table.
Challinor’s under-the-radar work
Following impressive work at AFC Fylde and Hartlepool United, Challinor took the reins at Stockport County in November 2021 with the club in the National League. After just coming up short in the season prior, the rumoured West Brom target took them up as champions in his first season.
He instantly had County battling at the top end of League Two but they lost in the play-offs in 2022/23, only to go up to League One as champions the following campaign.
Now, in the first season in the third-tier, the Hatters have finished 3rd. They’re heading for the play-offs to fight for a third promotion in four seasons.
Challinor has drawn high praise for his work but it feels as though his efforts and the Stockport rise have gone under the radar, perhaps partly down to the focus on Wrexham’s surge up the leagues.
A big step up at West Brom
There’s no hiding that a jump from Stockport County to West Brom would mark a big step up for Challinor, in terms of expectations, challenge and sheer size of the clubs.
However, to date, Challinor has managed every step up in his managerial career to date with aplomb. The journey he and Stockport have been on is nothing short of brilliant and many would back him to find success in the Championship too.
There is still a chance he makes the second-tier rise with the Hatters though. If they were to win the play-offs, that might make him a stronger WBA candidate but the challenge of prising him away from Edgeley Park would be even tougher.
