West Brom to finalise three man shortlist for top job
Albion hope to zero in on their new head coach by the end of this week – but Real Madrid No.2 Paul Clement is unlikely to make the final three-man shortlist.
The Baggies are compiling an initial seven-man list and hope to narrow down the search to a final trio by the weekend.
The three will then be interviewed by chairman Jeremy Peace – but Clement is unlikely to be among them despite being installed as odds-on favourite by bookies after helping Real win the Champions League on Monday.
Clement is understood to be interested in exploring his management options in England despite saying yesterday that he is happy in the Spanish capital.
But the Baggies are not planning to pursue the 42-year-old – brother of former Hawthorns defender Neil – at this stage.
Neither Chris Hughton nor Dave Jones, who have both been placed near the top of the bookmakers' lists, are thought to be leading contenders while Neil Lennon, who left Celtic last week, has been ruled out.
"Working for Real Madrid is a fantastic experience and I'm very happy here at the moment," said Clement. "My family are settled and we'd like to stay and enjoy this experience.
"But I do have ambitions to make that step up to management at some point in the near future.
"If the right club comes along at the right time then I'd like to do it."
