Michael Appleton could replace Alan Pardew at West Bromwich Albion
Leicester City assistant manager Michael Appleton is one of the leading candidates to take over the reins at West Bromwich Albion in the summer.
Alan Pardew is expected to be parted company with at the end of the 2017/18 campaign after failing to get them to Premier League safety, which, even if mathematically possible, is virtually impossible now.
The Baggies are currently placed 20th with just 20 points, having only won three games and lost 16 (drawn 11). Relegation now increasingly looking like their fate, they are looking forward to coming back stronger already, and apparently, Appleton could be the man they want to do it with.
The Leicester City assistant manager is no outsider to West Bromwich Albion, having both played and worked at the club (coach), meaning that he might be preferred by the management and the fans, too. Given that he also did a remarkable job with Oxford United in League 2, West Brom would surely benefit from his experience in the lower tier of English football.
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Michael Appleton’s former colleague and ex-Leicester City boss Craig Shakespeare is another man being linked to the job at the Hawthorns Stadium, but the odds suggest that he is merely an outsider at 25-1.
Despite being heavily linked, Appleton, too, is the sixth favourite at 10-1, while Michael O’Neill, Harry Redknapp, Martin O’Neill and Slaven Bilic are all placed above him, with former Watford manager Marco Silva leading the long list.
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Will Leicester City want him to leave, though? Michael Appleton is a decent man to have alongside your main man, and City won’t want to break a strong partnership just yet.