West Bromwich Albion have made Slaven Bilic their first choice to take over as the club's head coach, according to Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett.

The former West Ham manager was interviewed for the role on Tuesday night and he impressed Albion's bosses to move ahead of Chris Hughton, Chris Wilder and Bruno Labbadia in the running.

West Brom have been on the hunt for a permanent boss since sacking Darren Moore in March, with James Shan taking the reigns as caretaker manager since then.

Shan guided the Baggies to the Championship play-off semi-finals where they suffered a cruel penalty shoot-out defeat against Midlands rivals Aston Villa.

The club are now looking to install a new manager who can spearhead another promotion bid next season and they have set their sights firmly on Bilic, who was sacked as manager of Saudi club Al-Ittihad earlier this year.

Bilic's only previous managerial experience in English football came at West Ham between 2015 and 2017, but he has never managed in the Championship.

The Verdict

This would be an excellent appointment by Albion.

Bilic is a manager who has a strong reputation in the game, and this would mark a real statement of intent from the Baggies as they target promotion next term.

It is likely Bilic will need to take a pay cut to take on the role, but West Brom should now do all they can to get him appointed as soon as possible.