West Bromwich Albion have opened talks with Barnsley about appointing Valerien Ismael as their new manager, The Athletic can reveal.
Albion have turned their attention to the Frenchman after resetting their recruitment process following the departure of sporting and technical director Luke Dowling earlier this week.
Ismael now appears to be the club’s No.1 choice to succeed Sam Allardyce but they must still agree compensation with Barnsley before they can appoint the 45-year-old, who has a £2 million compensation figure in his contract at Oakwell, which has two years left to run.
Talks are ongoing between the clubs with Albion having moved on to Ismael following a protracted search that has seen both Chris Wilder and David Wagner ruled out having apparently landed the job.
Why Ismael?
Ismael led Barnsley to the Championship playoffs last season — where they lost to Swansea.
