Ex-Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray 'spoke' to Championship rivals about potential managerial return - report

Former Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray held talks with West Brom over the club’s vacant managerial post, but did not believe it was “the right job” for him to make his return to the dugout, according to reports.

The 61-year-old stepped away from his role with Birmingham City in February of last year following a health scare, and has been out of work ever since having officially resigned from his post at St. Andrew’s in May. In more recent times, Mowbray has shared a number of positive updates on his recovery, and has even spoken about the possibility of him returning to the professional game.

In an interview with the BBC last month, he said: “I hope I can stay fit and get back to work and do what I love. I just love working with young footballers and trying to inspire them to want to get better and improve and be brave with the ball and play but we'll see what happens as I say. The new year is really in my mind when I start really thinking about what's out there.”

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It is within this context that Alex Crook of talkSPORT suggests Mowbray, who previously spent a stint at the Hawthorns between 2006 and 2009, was among the candidates in the running for West Brom’s unoccupied top job. In a post to X on Friday evening, the reporter claimed that the Baggies “spoke to former manager Tony Mowbray, but he did not see this as the right job to return”.

Instead, it is stated that West Brom are closing in on the appointment of Raphael Wicky, who is currently out of work having parted company with BSC Young Boys last March. The 47-year-old is understood to be in advanced talks with Albion, according to multiple reports, and has also previously spent time in charge of FC Basel and Chicago Fire.

The Swiss coach was one of several names linked with Sunderland’s vacant managerial post prior to the appointment of Regis Le Bris last year, although nothing ever came of the speculation. For their part, West Brom have been without a manager since Carlos Corberan left to take over at Valencia in late December.