Carlos Corberan to Southampton exit: 'West Brom boss keeps move in hand'

Carlos Corberan may not have achieved his aim of diffusing speculation of a departure from West Brom after being linked with the vacant managerial role at Southampton.

The Spaniard has already had to respond to claims he was a contender for another Premier League role, at Wolves, in recent weeks.

Now it appears as though the reaction to those previous comments about a potential move to Molineux have prompted him to try and issue a stronger reaction to those links with the Saints.

But despite that, he may not have done enough to end all talk of him potential taking over from Russell Martin at Southampton, which he certainly could do if he absolutely wanted to.

Carlos Corberan comments do not rule a move to Southampton

When he responded to those links with a move to Wolves earlier this season, Corberan had simply stated that he was solely focused on West Brom’s next game.

As a result, when asked about the Southampton links this time round, the Baggies manager also insisted it was “disrespectful” to his current club to talk about a potential move to St Mary’s.

That he said, was due to the fact that his reaction to the links with Wolves in his eyes did not stop the speculation of a potential move to the Old Gold.

Yet just as he did not categorically rule out a move to Molineux in the past, nor has he categorically dismissed the chance of him taking over the Saints now.

While he has, perhaps correctly called it “disrespectful” to West Brom to talk about a move to Southampton now, he has also not actually said that he will not be heading to the south coast.

Because of that, there may be some who will feel that Corberan is still leaving the door open for a move to the Premier League’s current bottom side, or elsewhere, when there is nothing to stop him committing to the Baggies.

Baggies finances at The Hawthorns may keep door open

Of course, the Spaniard is more than entitled to do that, given he has the right to keep his options in order to do what he feels is best for his career.

He has done a remarkable job since taking charge at The Hawthorns, taking the club from fighting to avoid relegation to League One, to challenging for promotion to the Premier League.

That is something he has achieved despite a challenging financial situation at West Brom, without the Premier League money available to many of the recently-relegated side they are competing with, and even the much-needed Shilen Patel takeover not yet able to make up for extensive issues built up over previous years.

Corberan therefore may feel he has earned the right to test himself in the Premier League with a club such as Southampton if an approach does come, which it has not according to BBC Radio WM’s Steve Hermon.

With his reaction to those Saints seemingly not completely ruling that out either despite his apparent efforts to do so, talk about such a move may well continue regardless.

In other news, Man United and Newcastle are racing to sign a Southampton player.

For more Southampton news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.

The post Carlos Corberan to Southampton exit: 'West Brom boss keeps move in hand' appeared first on Football Insider.