West Bromwich Albion are set to engage in talks with Wolfsburg’s departing manager Bruno Labbadia, according to a report from the Express and Star.
The newspaper report that West Brom are expected to speak to Labbadia, who announced his departure form Wolfsburg at the end of his contact at the end season in March, in the coming days about becoming the Baggies’ next permanent manager.
Labbadia is vastly experienced having managed in the Bundesliga at the likes of Darmstadt, Bayer Leverkusen, Stuttgart and Hamburg over the last 16-years, but it is believed he has had to redeem his reputation with Wolfsburg, who he guided to a sixth place finish this term, after a disappointing second stint at Hamburg.
OPINION
The appointment of Labbadia would be a very interesting one for West Brom next season, if the Baggies do decide to name the 53-year-old as the successor to Darren Moore after talks between the two parties. Labbadia has a huge amount of experience having managed in the Bundesliga at some big clubs in Germany throughout his managerial career. He would be arriving at the Hawthorns full of confidence, after managing to get Wolfsburg, who were facing relegation when he arrived, to qualify for next season’s Europa League. That suggests he could be a very useful appointment by West Brom, who will be looking to get a manger used to success as they bid to mount another promotion challenge next season. However, the 53-year-old has never managed in English football and therefore has not experienced the unique challenges posed by competing in the Championship, but neither had Marcelo Bielsa when he arrived at Leeds, or Daniel Farke when he went to Norwich who both had their sides in the top three this season. So Labbadia might prove to be a good appointment if he takes over at West Brom ahead of next campaign.