West Brom are preparing to make a move for Bristol City manager Lee Johnson to take over in the summer according to the Daily Star.
The newspaper claim that interest will soon rise should English boss Johnson not lead Bristol into the Premier League this season and that West Brom will be challenged by relegated Fulham and Premier League side Brighton for his signature.
The Championship side have been without a permanent manager since sacking Darren Moore in March and their push for the play-offs was left in the hands of caretaker boss Jimmy Shan.
Shan’s side have already confirmed their play-off spot with Bristol City and Lee Johnson needing a couple of favours from elsewhere to jump into the top six.
Johnson took over the club in 2016 and has come close to play-offs before, missing out after a collapse at the end of last season after guiding them to a League Cup semi-final in the same season.
OPINION
With three clubs wanting his signature, demand is high in Lee Johnson and Bristol City may need to give him a new deal to secure him for a fourth season in charge at Ashton Gate. West Brom have clearly struggled to settle on one name to replace Darren Moore at the Hawthorns and Johnson is one of many names that have appeared on the list to potentially take over after the season’s end. Johnson has enjoyed a good period in charge of Bristol and has a %40.34 win ratio at the club. The worry that would surround the West Brom fan’s is the fact that Johnson has had no success in terms of league positions. Winning games is all good but a team like West Brom must demand more than just a good win ratio, they will need more experience of promotion if they fail to make it through the play-offs and have to do it all again come next season. The move for Johnson should definitely not happen should the Baggies gain promotion, they will certainly need a man with Premier League experience to come in and secure them as a top division side for the years to come.