West Brom: Shilen Patel will have big Ivan Juric relief after Southampton developments | OneFootball

Southampton manager Ivan Juric was linked with West Brom after Shilen Patel's takeover of the club last year.

Despite losing head coach Carlos Corberan to Valencia in December, West Bromwich Albion remain firmly in promotion contention in the Championship.

After losing to Southampton in last season's play-off semi-finals, West Brom made an outstanding start to this campaign under Corberan's guidance, winning five and drawing one of their first six games.

The Baggies struggled to maintain that impressive early season form, winning just three of the next 17 games prior to Corberan's exit, but they recorded 10 draws during that run, which helped to keep them in touch with their fellow promotion contenders.

Almost 16 years after leaving the club, Tony Mowbray made an emotional return to The Hawthorns to replace Corberan last month, and while Albion have been a little inconsistent under the 61-year-old so far, his side still have a strong chance of achieving a top six finish this season.

Owner Shilen Patel has brought some much-needed stability to The Hawthorns since completing his takeover of the club last February, but the situation could all have been so different if he had decided to part company with Corberan in the summer.

Shilen Patel reportedly considered bold Carlos Corberan, Ivan Juric call after West Brom takeover

Corberan was widely regarded as one of the best managers in the Championship during his time at West Brom, but it seemed that Patel did not initially share that view.

As Patel's takeover of the Baggies neared completion last February, Tuttosport claimed that the incoming owner was preparing to replace Corberan with then Torino manager Ivan Juric in the summer, and it was even suggested that he had already been offered a bumper contract to convince him to take over at The Hawthorns.

Given that Albion were in the play-off places at the time, it would have been an incredibly controversial call to sack Corberan, but as new owners often like to employ their own managers, the rumours could not simply be dismissed as mere speculation.

Few West Brom supporters would have heard of Juric before he was linked with the club, but the fact he had spent his entire managerial career in Italy with Mantova, Crotone, Genoa, Hellas Verona and Torino, taking charge of the latter three clubs in the top flight, did at least provide some reassurance for those who were alarmed by the reports.

Juric departed Torino in the summer after three years at the helm, during which time he won 45, drew 36 and lost 41 of his 122 games in charge, but despite the Baggies missing out on promotion, Patel opted to remain loyal to Corberan, and he will certainly feel that his decision to stick with the Spaniard has been justified after recent events.

Ivan Juric appointment could have been a disaster for West Brom based on Southampton evidence

Juric did not have to wait long for a return to management after leaving Torino as he was handed the Roma job in September following the dismissal of club legend Daniele De Rossi, but he was sacked less than two months later after picking up just four wins and three draws from his 12 games in charge.

Thankfully for Juric, his poor spell at Roma did not do too much damage to his reputation, and he was appointed as the new manager of Premier League side Southampton in December following the sacking of Russell Martin.

The Saints had made a dismal start to life back in the Premier League following their promotion from the Championship last season, and they sat bottom of the table with just six points to their name when Juric arrived, so it was always going to be a near impossible task for the 49-year-old to keep the club in the division.

However, Juric has failed to make any kind of impact over the past two months, and it could be argued that he has somehow managed to make them even worse than they were under his predecessor Martin.

Having won just one league game under Juric, the Saints are now 13 points from safety, and while there is a break clause in his contract that can be activated in the summer in the event of relegation, as things stand, there is a chance he may not even remain in charge until the end of the season.

As Southampton were destined for relegation before his appointment, it would be unfair to place too much of the blame for their current plight on Juric, but his spell at St Mary's has raised serious question marks over whether he is good enough to manage at the top levels of English football.

After bringing in a safe pair of hands in Mowbray to keep West Brom's promotion push on track after Corberan's exit, Patel will no doubt be feeling a huge sense of relief that he decided against making a move for Juric in the summer.