The hunt for the new West Bromwich Albion is underway, and the bookies have a surprising candidate as the leading contender for the vacant position.

Swansea boss Luke Williams is topping the list of candidates, but he has insisted he's fully focused on continuing his 'journey' at Swansea City, amid rumours linking him with the vacancy at The Hawthorns.

West Brom have not yet made any contact with the Swans boss or his representatives, and Williams has indicated he remains fully focused on the job at hand in SA1, with Sunday's win over Luton leaving his team four points off the play-offs.

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"I love Swansea so we'll see," he said. "I don't believe that's true for a start. Secondly, we have a game every three days so I've well and truly got my head down and I'm not interested in that for the time being.."

It's early days in the search for a successor to the departed Carlos Corberan, whose move from The Hawthorns to Valencia was confirmed on Christmas Eve. Corberan was in charge of Albion from October 2022 and for more than two years there was an upturn in results; having taken over with the Baggies in the relegation zone, the Spaniard returns to his home city having left the club just outside the play-offs.

There now comes an interesting period ahead, in which Albion's majority shareholders Bilkul will conduct a thorough process to determine who they want as the new figure to lead the squad; indeed it's the first major decision that has come for the new regime since Shilen Patel's takeover earlier this year.

Albion banked around £2.5m in compensation for losing Corberan, and it's understood that the club could part with a few quid themselves - if the figure was a reasonable one - to secure the services of their desired candidate, although it's likely that the most prominent free agents will be considered.

Also near the top of the market, during a process which is admittedly in its infancy, former Everton defender and Liverpool first-team coach John Heitinga's name can be found; the Dutchman returned to Merseyside this summer with compatriot Arne Slot, and he has helped the Reds set a stunning pace in the first half of the Premier League season.

West Brom next manager odds market

Luke Williams - 3/1

John Heitinga - 7/2

Mark Robins - 5/1

Steven Schumacher - 8/1

Russell Martin - 9/1

John Eustace - 12/1

Andrew Crofts - 20/1

Lee Carsley - 20/1

Steve Cooper - 20/1

Odds via SkyBet - correct at 10am, 30th December, 202

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