Slaven Bilic in pole position for West Brom job as talks continue

The former West Ham boss met the Baggies board at the training ground on Thursday for further talks after his initial interview on Tuesday night.

It's believed both parties are keen to agree a deal, but negotiations over salary and incentives for winning promotion are still ongoing.

Technical director Luke Dowling and chief executive Mark Jenkins are also expected to speak to Albion owner Guochuan Lai before rubber-stamping any agreement.

Bilic is keen to return to English football and is confident he's the current front-runner for the role.

Albion have also sounded out Charlton boss Lee Bowyer this week and have spoken to former Brighton manager Chris Hughton.

Bowyer's deal with the Addicks runs out at the end of the month and he has held further contract talks with his current club.

Hughton would need to take a significant pay cut from his previous salary in the Premier League to manage the Baggies in the Championship.

Albion are still keeping an eye on Chris Wilder in case he storms out of Sheffield United over the ongoing legal dispute between their joint-owners Kevin McCabe and Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.

However, even though Wilder is known to be incredibly frustrated, an exit from Bramall Lane looks unlikely at the moment.

Bilic is the clear favourite to take over the reins at The Hawthorns, with an announcement possible next week if an agreement can be reached.

Albion's board will speak to owner Lai to get the go-ahead before any appointment.

Dowling and Jenkins will speak to Lai via Ke Xu, Albion's Chinese director known as 'Ken', who is based in the UK permanently.

The technical director's search over the past three-and-a-half weeks has been an extensive one that has taken in a number of candidates.

He interviewed former Wolfsburg boss Bruno Labbadia last week, and has previously spoken to Troyes manager Rui Almeida.

Quique Sanchez Flores, who worked with Dowling at Watford, was also under consideration, as was Lincoln City’s Danny Cowley.

But Bilic is currently the most likely appointment. The 50-year-old has been out of work since February, when he was sacked by Saudi club Al-Ittihad.

He guided West Ham to seventh place in the Premier League and qualification to the Europa League during a two-year spell at the Hammers.

Bilic has been a manager for 18 years, including six spent in charge of the Croatia national team.