West Brom are in negotiations with Slaven Bilic over his salary and incentives as the club chiefs plot talks with owner Guochuan Lai before giving the green light for the Serbian to take charge, according to the Express and Star.
The newspaper claim on their website that the Baggies reentered discussions with the former West Ham boss over the vacant manager’s position, which had been filled on a caretaker basis by James Shan following Darren Moore’s departure, revealing that the focus was on the contract offer.
It is stated that Luke Dowling and Mark Jenkins are plotting to discuss Bilic’s potential appointment with owner Lai, the Serbian currently at the front of the queue for the role.
Opinion
While making sure you are paid what you are worth is a crucial part of any contract negotiations, be that in or out of football, it is a little worrying that that is what talks at West Brom are hinging on right now. You would hope that Bilic would focus on football first and his own earnings second, making sure that the West Brom project was the right one for him and vice versa, rather than what he is going to be paid and what bonuses are on offer. The last thing the Baggies need is a money chasing manager who has his own interests at heart over those of the club. It seems as though he is very much their first choice, hence why talks are going on for this long, but the nature of the discussions might have a few alarm bells ringing. He is a good manager but it has to be about making sure he is the right figure to take the club forward. If he is going to focus on money, maybe they should be looking elsewhere.