West Bromwich Albion have reportedly identified a potential successor to Steve Bruce already in ex-Middlesborough boss Chris Wilder, with the Midlands outfit seemingly interested in moving for the 55-year-old.

What’s the latest?

According to The Northern Echo, Wilder has emerged as an early favourite to replace Bruce in the Hawthorns hot seat.

Having had his contract at the Riverside terminated just last week, he remains a free agent with vast experience across the Championship and Premier League.

Football League World further supplemented those earlier claims, revealing that Wilder is indeed being considered by the Albion hierarchy.

The Baggies will hope to have someone in charge for this Saturday’s fixture at Reading, and due to his availability and aforementioned experience, it might make perfect sense.

The perfect Bruce heir?

Whilst there may be concern about appointing a coach who was only recently dismissed from this previous job, where he had his club sitting in a similarly poor position around West Brom, Wilder does have the pedigree to turn things around at the Hawthorns.

Most renowned for his performance at Sheffield Unitedwhere he led them from League One to a top-half Premier League finish, he will likely be remembered by Blades fans as a hero.

His performances were so impressive that he earned a huge fan in Jurgen Klopp. The German took every opportunity to praise Wilder when the two faced off, and following Liverpool’s narrow win over them in January 2020, he had the following to say:

“Before the game, I watched a story about where they have come from and it is a wonderful story, an amazing story, and I have so much admiration for them.”

He continued: “They have some very good players and clearly a very good manager… I said it before, I couldn’t respect Chris and his players more.”

Having cruised up to the Premier League in the 2018/19 season, where his team lost just nine games all season, his first year in the top flight captured plenty of imagination.

He would earn 54 points, finishing above the likes of Everton and Newcastle United, and just two points behind Arsenal.

This feat alone should be enough to convince Lai Guochuan that he can be the man to turn around Bruce’s mess, which has the Baggies sat in 22nd, having won just once this season.