West Brom announce Valerien Ismael as successor to Sam Allardyce with Frenchman signing four-year deal at the Hawthorns after compensation package was agreed with fellow Championship side Barnsley
- A compensation deal worth £2m was agreed between West Brom and Barnsley
- The 45-year-old Frenchman impressed in the Championship last season
- His appointment ends a drawn-out process to find Sam Allardyce’s successor
- The Baggies are seeking immediate promotion back to the Premier League
West Brom have announced Valerien Ismael as their new head coach, with the Frenchman succeeding Sam Allardyce at the Hawthorns.
The 45-year-old has signed a four-year deal at the club after compensation of around £2million was agreed with Barnsley.
Talks were then held over the weekend before the finer details were ironed out prior to the announcement from West Brom, who will be in the Championship once again after finishing second bottom in the Premier League in 2020-21.
West Brom have announced that they have appointed Valerien Ismael as their new head coach
The 45-year-old has signed a four-year deal at the club to succeed Sam Allardyce (centre)
‘I am delighted to welcome Valerien to The Hawthorns,’ West Brom chief executive Xu Ke, also known as Ken, said.
‘Valerien has established a reputation as an excellent coach and I have been impressed by his professionalism, enthusiasm and hunger to succeed.
‘His performance last season with Barnsley, and his coaching career to date, all point to a man who has a long, successful career in front of him. It is my hope that he is with us for at least the next four years.
‘I am confident that by working together we will be able to achieve our goal of returning to the Premier League, but success is earned by building on strong foundations, and our plans must now look further into the future.’
It ends a drawn-out process which saw the Baggies consider David Wagner (L) and Chris Wilder
Ismael meanwhile added: ‘I feel really proud to have accepted this challenge and after talking with Ken about the project here, and how we would integrate a new identity, I’m ready to get to work.
‘I feel a big responsibility but I’m ready for this job and I am delighted to be here.
‘This was the next step I wanted to take in my career and I’m ready to work with everyone at this club. Although there’s going to be a lot of hard work this season, I am excited for the big task in front of us.’
Former Nuremberg, Wolfsburg and LASK boss Ismael has been in demand following an impressive debut season in the Championship with Barnsley which saw them narrowly miss out on promotion after finishing fifth.
Ismael’s immediate challenge is to reshape and add to a squad that would capable of returning to the top flight
His appointment ends a drawn-out process which saw the West Midlands outfit lurch from one target to another following Allardyce’s departure.
Their Chinese owners blocked the appointment of former Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder and deliberated too long over offering the job to ex-Huddersfield boss David Wagner.
Frustration around the saga also saw the departure of sporting and technical director Luke Dowling by mutual consent.
Ismael’s immediate challenge is to reshape and add to a squad that would capable of returning to the top flight, with a number of players wishing to leave this summer.