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Per a report from The Telegraph, West Brom are considering making an approach for Patrick Vieira as their next manager.
What’s the word?
Following the Baggies’ failed attempts at an instant return to the Premier League, the club are now on the hunt for a new permanent boss.
Jimmy Shan was given the managerial role until the end of the season but now Albion are pondering an approach for Vieira, according to The Telegraph.
The Frenchman, who was capped 107 times for his country, impressed at New York City before earning his chance in Europe at Nice. This season he took the club to seventh place in Ligue 1.
Perfect for Harper?
Three years ago, Rekeem Harper was a striker, but after being turned into a box to box midfielder, he revealed that he was told to look up to one man.
That player? Vieira. In an interview with The Express & Star in January, the 19-year-old claimed: “Academy manager, Mark Harrison, said to me ‘we see you as a midfielder called Patrick Vieira. He said he saw that in me potentially. At first I was naive, I didn’t really want this but then I thought I like this and I can be involved and I took to it.”
So, who better to turn around the fortunes of Harper than the man he had to mould his game around? The young midfielder is out of contract in the summer but a swift appointment of Vieira might finally be enough to convince him to sign new terms.
After their play-off semi-final second leg, Harper was berated mercilessly for his lack of effort when coming on as a substitute.
As a result, Albion fans could be forced to change their opinions.
Harper has had problems with attitude at the back end of the campaign but the appointment of a manager who he was told to study could be game changing. That’s especially if you factor in the work rate that Vieira was renowned for as a player.
Albion’s promising midfield man has lacked consistency throughout the current season so should the 42-year-old come in, it would certainly be interesting to see how the pair got on.
