Paddy Kenny has expressed his surprise that West Brom are pursuing Derek McInnes as their new manager, describing the breakdown of talks with Chris Wilder as 'strange'.

The Baggies are searching for a new boss following Sam Allardyce's decision to leave the club following their relegation from the Premier League last term.

Wilder was heavily linked with the role at the Hawthorns until talks broke down with the former Sheffield United man, while Slavisa Jokanovic was also tipped for the role before taking the vacant role at Bramall Lane.

Since then it seems that the focus of West Brom has switched their attention to Derek McInnes.

The former Aberdeen eight years as manager of the Scottish side before leaving his role my mutual consent in March and is now said to be keen in the role at the Hawthorns, but according to Kenny, it's somewhat surprising McInnes is now be discussed instead of out-of-work Wilder.

Speaking to Football Insider, Kenny said: "I just don’t understand it whatsoever.

“With Wilder, I just don’t know what’s gone on with that. If they’re thinking about bringing McInnes in, he’s been sacked at Aberdeen where they’ve scored one goal in nine games. It’s a strange one, for me.

“At one time it looked like they were going to have the choice between Wilder and Slavisa Jokanovic, and he’s gone to Sheffield United now.

“So like I say, I think it’s strange. I thought Wilder was 100 per cent nailed on there so I just can’t understand why it fell through.”

The verdict

It's hard to disagree with Paddy Kenny with regards to Chris Wilder.

In my opinion, the former Sheffield United boss is the best candidate for the job and so West Brom should be doing everything in their powers to bring him into the club.

That said, I feel that Derek McInnes is certainly a candidate who deserves to be in the mix.

After eight successful years with Aberdeen it's clear that he's a quality manager after establishing the Dons as 'the best of the rest' in Scotland behind Celtic and Rangers, meaning that he certainly has the credentials to be a success in the Championship.