West Brom are eyeing Tottenham Hotspur coach Ryan Mason for their manager vacancy.
That’s according to journalist Alan Nixon via his Patreon page, where he reveals the reported interest.
Mason has been at Spurs in various coaching roles since 2018, including two short stints as caretaker in 2021 and 2023.
However, landing the West Brom job would be his first management job outside Spurs and his first stint as a permanent manager.
West Brom eye Ryan Mason for manager role
Mason, 33, called time early on his playing career in 2018, hanging up his boots as a 26-year-old with Hull City after suffering a fractured skull in a game against Chelsea.
He almost immediately pitched up at Spurs as a coach, a club he’d started out at as an eight-year-old.
| Mason’s stint as interim manager at Spurs, as per Transfermarkt | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spell | Games | Win | Draw | Loss | PPG |
| Apr-Jun 2023 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1.17 |
| Apr-Jun 2021 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1.71 |
Various roles followed, first in the academy before taking over as caretaker manager in 2021 after the departure of Jose Mourinho, and then again in 2023 before the arrival of Ange Postecoglou, before he became an assistant in the Australian’s setup.
He’s managed a total of 13 games in his two interim spells, but the West Brom job would represent his first as a full-time manager in his own right.
Following the departure of Tony Mowbray, Nigeria international defender Semi Ajayi is also now expected to leave West Brom this summer.
It could be the right time for Mason to go
It has been nothing short of a disastrous season for Spurs, languishing near the foot of the Premier League table despite traditionally being one of the league’s ‘Big Six’ sides.
So bad has it been that despite Postecoglou still having his side fighting at the business end of the Europa League, the Telegraph revealed he is likely to leave his post regardless of the club’s success in that competition.
The exit would likely mean another shake-up at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and, once again, there’s no guarantee where Mason would land or the prominence he’d be given.
Moreover, given that Postecoglou is set to depart at the end of the season, the decision-makers at the club would have the summer to appoint their new man, meaning there would likely be no third interim spell for Mason.
Given the uncertain picture hurtling down the road at Spurs, now could be the ideal time for Mason to jump.
Mason would represent a risk for West Brom
Appointing Mason, given he has never been a permanent head coach before, would of course be something of a risk for West Brom.
However, it feels like the Baggies tried the wise older-hand style of manager in Tony Mowbray and, given he lasted just three months and failed to get the club into the play-offs, it’s easy to see why West Brom might fancy a new direction.
At Spurs, not only has Mason led a dozen or so games himself at one of the biggest clubs in the world, including handling all the media that goes with it, he also has almost a decade’s worth of experience in various roles around the club and working under some of the game’s top coaches.
As rookie managers go, he’s probably one of the most qualified.
West Brom are still, in effect, trying to replace Carlos Corberan, who was doing well at the Hawthorns but left at the end of last year to take the Valencia vacancy.
In Mason, those attracted to the coach at West Brom will hope they’ve found their long-term replacement, should they convince him to join.
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