Pulis nears exit as Baggies target Roy

WEST BROMWICH ALBION manager Tony Pulis’s future has plunged into further uncertainty after it emerged the club have been seeking his replacement since the end of last season.

Albion’s start to the campaign has been thrown into turmoil due to the ongoing feud between Pulis and the club’s hierarchy over their summer transfer business.

But Sportsmail has learned the cracks in the relationship between the manager and the board were showing well before the start of the season.

Indeed, the club were open to replacing Pulis — despite his success in keeping the club in the Premier League since his arrival in January 2015 — before the new season. Axed England manager Roy Hodgson was among those sounded out about the possibility of taking over during the close season.

The internal landscape at the club changed in August when owner Jeremy Peace agreed to sell the club to Chinese businessman Guochuan Lai.

Hodgson remains on the club’s radar as they continue to make contingency plans for the future.

Peace, who still advises West Brom, is a huge admirer of Hodgson following the 69-yearold’s stint at the Hawthorns between 2011 and 2012.

Pulis’s position will become clearer once Lai’s takeover is ratified, with the Chinese businessman due to hold talks with the manager in the near future.