West Brom have made Barnsley boss Valerien Ismael their top target to replace Sam Allardyce as manager.

Baggies technical director Luke Dowling left the club this week after his preferred choice, Chris Wilder, was vetoed by owner Guochuan Lai.

An attempt to lure David Wagner failed when the former Huddersfield boss opted to join Swiss side Young Boys.

Chief executive Xu Ke believes Ismael is the right man to steer West Brom straight back into the Premier League.

The 45-year-old Frenchman exceeded all pre-season expectations by guiding Barnsley into last season's Championship play-offs, where they lost 2-1 on aggregate to Swansea in the semi-finals.

It is understood Ismael, whose managerial career includes stints at Wolfsburg and Austrian side LASK, had a seven-figure compensation clause inserted into his contract when he replaced Gerhard Struber as Barnsley boss in October 2020.

Allardyce left West Brom at the end of the 2020-21 season following the club's drop to the Championship - the first Premier League relegation of his career.