West Brom are yet to make any contact with Lincoln City regarding their manager Michael Appleton despite speculation emerging over their potential interest in him, according to Lincolnshire Live.

The Express and Star have reported that the Baggies are open to paying compensation for the right managerial candidate if they are in work. That comes with West Brom being required to pay compensation of around £700,000 to Lincoln if they want to bring in Appleton this summer.

The same report from the Express and Star also outlined that all interviews have now been conducted by the hierarchy at the Hawthorns. While it has also been reported that Chris Wilder, contrary to other reports, is still in the frame for the job.

According to Lincolnshire Live, there has been no contact from West Brom as of yet about the possibility of them taking Appleton to the Hawthorns. The report added that as a result, the Lincoln boss is continuing to prepare for next season and aiming to bounce back from the disappointment of losing the League One play-off final.

The verdict

This update, alongside what has been reported by the Express and Star regarding interviews being finished, suggests that West Brom are not looking at Appleton as a major contender for the job at this moment in time. That of course might well change in the coming days if their other options do not end up getting the job.

It is interesting that the Baggies are willing to pay compensation for a manager, and that opens the door for them to potentially come in for Appleton down the line.

Bringing him in would cost them £700,000 which does not seem to be too unreasonable really and you can see why Lincoln would demand that because he would be difficult for them to replace.

Appleton will be having to focus his full efforts on Lincoln’s squad building for next term, but it must be a distraction to have this talk around the West Brom job. The Imps will hope the Baggies sort out their new manager soon and then they can get back to plotting how they can bounce back from losing in the play-off final.