West Brom ditch Chris Hughton move

Long-time favourite Chris Hughton was today ruled out of the race to become Albion boss.

The Birmingham manager has been among the front-runners since Roy Hodgson was appointed England chief more than a month ago.

But Albion have now scrubbed the 53-year-old from their shortlist, leaving the identity of Hodgson's successor again shrouded in mystery.

German coach Ralf Rangnick is still believed to be in the frame despite a weekend of conflicting reports surrounding his bid to claim the Hawthorns hot-seat.

But despite Hughton's exit from the race, former Schalke coach Rangnick is still not a shoo-in to land the job with the likes of Michael Appleton, Alan Curbishley, Steve Clarke and Gus Poyet all possible candidates.

The exact reason for today's dramatic developments surrounding Hughton has not been confirmed, but Albion are known to have been concerned about the possibility of a drawn-out battle with Blues, who made it clear they would reject any formal approach to speak to the former Newcastle chief.

And despite the fact Hughton was interested in hearing the Baggies' proposals, the club were unconvinced he was willing to force the issue in the event of Blues standing firm.

Rangnick was meanwhile the subject of intense speculation at the weekend with reports in Germany on Saturday claiming the 53-year-old had accepted the job followed by strong online rumours yesterday that he was out of the running.

The new boss will walk into a series of urgent personnel issues with midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu placing himself on a potential collision-course with the club at the weekend.

Quotes in France attributed to the popular 25-year-old claimed his agent is in talks with a host of clubs including Newcastle and Tottenham about a transfer.

While he is under contract for a further three years and Albion have received no approaches, the comments are certain to anger the club if they are verified as genuine.

Meanwhile, the Baggies will have noted that Robert Green is leaving West Ham on a free transfer as they assess alternatives to goalkeeping target Ben Foster.

See also:

Simon Cox sure West Brom board will land right man
Danny Guthrie on West Broms radar
Ralf Rangnick leads race for West Brom hot-seat