West Brom eye 47-year-old manager who was linked with Sunderland last year | OneFootball

A second contender has been named for the West Bromwich Albion job.

West Bromwich Albion are considering former BSC Young Boys head coach, Raphael Wicky, for their managerial vacancy.

This is according to Lyall Thomas of Sky Sports, who links the 47-year-old with a potential move to The Hawthorns this January.

Wicky was heavily linked with the Sunderland job back in May 2024 however a deal never came to fruition.

Albion are currently in the midst of a play-off race in the Championship and, having picked up 8 points from the last 15 available, they sit in sixth place above the likes of Bristol City and Blackburn Rovers.

Despite this decent placing, they are without a head coach following Carlos Corberan's departure to La Liga side Valencia on Christmas Eve.

If Wicky arrives in the West Midlands, he has a tough act to follow in building on the strong foundation laid by Corberan, who did a superb job in challenging circumstances.

Raphael Wicky under consideration for West Brom on

As detailed in the aforementioned report on X (formerly Twitter), Wicky is one of the final few names remaining on West Brom's shortlist for their head coach vacancy.

Outside of that, he states that Rene Hake also remains after it was revealed yesterday by Fabrizio Romano, that the Baggies' hierarchy had held talks with the Dutchman.

Additionally, Sky Sports' Live Blog (09/01, 08:46) support this theory as they report that Wicky and Hake are the final two candidates under consideration, with Blackburn boss John Eustace now out of the running.

Albion fans will now be eager for the process to conclude swiftly, with the club likely aiming to appoint a new boss ahead of their next league game against Stoke City on January 18th.

Rapahel Wicky's path to date

Prior to beginning his managerial career, Wicky was a relatively successful footballer, playing for teams such as Werder Bremen, Atlético Madrid and Hamburger SV across a 15-year career. Additionally, he featured 75 times for his native country of Switzerland, representing them in the European Championships in 1996 and 2004.

Since retiring, he has worked his way up through the youth ranks at Basel before becoming their full-time head coach in 2017. Although his tenure lasted just one season, he achieved a remarkable feat by leading his side to a stunning 2-1 victory over Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

Most recently, he served as the head coach of BSC Young Boys, where he achieved an impressive points-per-game average of 1.97. Under his leadership, the team enjoyed a highly successful season in 2022-23, securing a domestic double by winning both the Swiss Super League and the Swiss Cup.

While he doesn't have heaps of experience, his work at YB suggests he has some elements of a top coach, and you could certainly see him being successful at The Hawthorns if he is given the opportunity.