West Brom are looking towards other Championship managers as they consider potential heirs to Steve Bruce at the Hawthorns, with Wigan Athletic boss Leam Richardson one man on their shortlist.

The Express and Star report that Richardson is one of several names that Ron Gourlay is considering as the Baggies look to turn around a shocking start to the season which currently has them in 20th position in the Championship.

Richardson has earned a lot of plaudits during his time at Wigan, first performing a minor miracle to keep them in League One in the 2020/21 campaign as they struggled to cope with the 12-point deduction that saw them relegated from the Championship the season prior.

The 42-year-old took the reins at Wigan when seemingly nobody else was willing to and steered them to unlikely safety before winning the League One title in the 2021/22 campaign.

The Tics currently sit 17th in the Championship after winning five of their opening 14 games this season, with survival very much the aim for the Lancashire side in their first season back in the second tier.

It is easy to see why Richardson is attracting the interest of the Baggies after helping transform Wigan from League Two certainties to a comfortable Championship side in the space of just two years.

Journalist Josh Bunting praised Richardson for his work with Wigan youngster Thelo Aasgaard, saying:

"He is such a fluid young player, very intelligent with his play, Leam Richardson is the perfect manager to work with him."

Indeed, it would very much appear as if Richardson is the 'perfect' manager in general, with those in the Latics squad very much taking to the young coach thanks to his various methods.

So far, the former Chesterfield assistant manager has taken charge of 79 matches as the permanent Wigan boss, of which he has won 41, drawn 17 and lost 21, recording an impressive points-per-game average of 1.77.

This represents a significant upgrade on the 1.13 points per game Bruce averaged during his time at West Brom and with an arguably better squad at his disposal, there seems no reason why Richardson couldn't be a success at the Hawthorns.