‘It has come as a bit of a shock’ – Reaction emerges to likely West Brom managerial decision

West Brom have moved swiftly to try and find a replacement for departed manager Valerien Ismael, with the news that the club are planning to try and appoint Steve Bruce as their next boss.

The former Newcastle boss has been out of work for a little while now and it was unclear whether he would ever return to the world of management based on the way that his Toon spell turned out.

The Toon never really took to his appointment and after a bad run of form that ended up with the boss leaving, a lot of the club’s supporters were quite happy to see him go.

After the tumultuous time he had at St James’ Park, it looked like he may call it a day. However, the boss is now heading back to the EFL and the Championship with West Brom – and it seems to be a move that has surprised even the closest journalists to the club.

One such journalist, Joseph Masi, has taken to the Express and Star’s Youtube channel to respond to the ongoing news and admitted that it has been a ‘shock’ to see the club move to appoint Bruce and that no interim manager suggests a deal is close.

It certainly looks as though he could be in place as soon as the weekend – and it would mean that there has been a complete managerial overhaul for the Baggies within a week at the Hawthorns.

Speaking about the potential appointment on YouTube, Masi said: “Steve Bruce, it has come as a bit of a shock to be honest. I think we all thought if Ismael was going to go, James Morrison would be the natural sort of interim boss and see where it goes from there.

“But there’s been no interim boss named, which would of course suggest that Albion are close to an appointment now.”

Masi goes on to mention how talks were surely ongoing after the Preston defeat and that candidates may have