West Brom: Who are the potential contenders to succeed Carlos Corberan

Late on Monday evening, it was claimed in Spain that Valencia had activated a reported £2.8m release clause in Corberan's contract.

And it has now been confirmed that the Spaniard is heading to his native country, to take over at his hometown club.

The search is now on to find Corberan's successor at The Hawthorns, with a number of potential contenders already being linked to the role.

Here are some of the early names that have been reportedly linked to the Albion role.

Mark Robins

The former Coventry City boss was sacked by the Sky Blues back in November, after a difficult start to the campaign.

The long serving manager, who took Coventry back through the divisions to the Championship and then to a play-off final and an FA Cup semi-final, has been widely regarded as one of the best managers in the division in recent years.

His sacking came as a surprise to many. He has already been linked to other vacant roles, and will no doubt be heavily linked with potentially taking over at The Hawthorns.

Steve Cooper

Another manager out of work, having been sacked just months into his job at Leicester City.

Cooper has good Championship pedigree. The former England youth boss, who won the U17 World Cup in 2017, moved into club management with Swansea.

And after doing a credible job in South Wales, landed the role at Nottingham Forest.

He took the club from a relegation scrap to the Championship play-off final in the space of just a few months, beating a Huddersfield side managed by Corberan.

Then after surviving in the top flight with Forest, he was sacked last season.

He was given a route back into management at the Foxes, but after a dismal start to the campaign he was dismissed.

Like Robins, Cooper has been linked with vacant jobs in recent weeks, including the position at Wolves.

Tony Mowbray

Many Albion fans would welcome the return of a former hero with open arms.

Mowbray, who guided Albion to the Championship title and the FA Cup semi-finals in 2007/2008, is regarded by some as one of Albion's best managers in recent times.

He left Albion in 2009 and headed for Celtic, but after a disappointing spell north of the border, returned to England and has had success.

He spent three years at Middlesbrough before moving on to Coventry and then Blackburn Rovers, where he was much loved by the Ewood Park crowd.

Mowbray was then unfairly dismissed at Sunderland, having surprisingly taken a young Black Cats side to the Championship play-offs.

He would return to management last season with Birmingham City, where he won four of his first eight games.

But in February, he stepped away from the role for medical reasons before permanently leaving the Blues.

It was later revealed Mowbray had been diagnosed with bowl cancer. But in November, speaking to the BBC, Mowbray said he was returning to health after time out of the game, and was looking to return to the game.

And in recent weeks, it has been reported that Mowbray is looking to get back into management in the year.

Given his standing among the fanbase, and the entertaining brand of football Albion know he plays, it may be a perfect fit for a second coming.

Russell Martin

One of the freshest names on the out of work list is Russell Martin, the man who helped navigate Southampton past Albion in the play-offs and into the top flight.

Martin has earned a reputation at EFL level, from his time at MK Dons and Swansea, before helping the Saints return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

The 'total football' philosophy Martin adopts was his undoing in the end, as he was dismissed by Southampton earlier this month following a mauling by Spurs.

He does have obvious pedigree in the Championship, but any appointment may not go down too well with the Albion fans.

Many believe Martin had Corberan sent off when the two sides met in the league last season, and his comments around narrowing the pitch in the play-offs at St Marys also didn't go down well with the supporters either

Slaven Bilic

Another out of work former Baggies favourite who could unsurprisingly be linked is Slaven Bilic.

The 2019/20 promotion winning head coach helped Albion return to the Premier League during his spell at The Hawthorns.

Many felt he was unfairly sacked just months into their return to the top flight.

Since then, he has managed Watford and had a spell in China, before a stint in Saudi Arabia came to an end in August.

He was linked with a move to Cardiff City back in October, with Wales Online reporting the Bluebirds were keen on taking him to South Wales.

However, nothing materialised with the latest reports in South Wales stating he was back in his native Croatia and not keen on a return to management until the New Year.

Liam Rosenior 

The former Hull City boss has been strongly linked with the Albion role in the past.

Prior to Corberan's appointment, the ex-full back was a possible candidate following his departure from his first role at Derby.

He then went on to Hull where he enhanced his reputation by almost reaching the play-offs. Some thought it was an under achievement given the Tigers had invested in both transfer windows.

Weeks after the season ended, he was surprisingly sacked and then later in the summer took over at Ligue 1 Strasbourg, who are currently 13th in the table.

Rosenior is regarded by many as a good up and coming manager, and he may interest Albion.

The issue around this may well be compensation, however with Albion paying Valencia for Corberan it may make a move viable if the club are interested.

Pep Lijnders

Given the contacts of Albion's sporting director Andrew Nestor, it will be no surprise if Albion sound out possible candidates from overseas.

And one of those could be a man who knows English football all too well.

Dutchman Lijnders worked with Brendan Rodgers before becoming an assistant coach to Jurgen Klopp during a highly successful time at Anfield.

He had an unsuccessful spell at NEC in Holland, before returning to Liverpool. He then went on to Red Bull Salzburg earlier this year, but lasted just 23 games in the job.

Lee Carsley

Another outside shout could be the former interim England boss Carsley.

The Birmingham born former Everton midfielder has a strong reputation in coaching, largely down to his time with the England youth sides.

Prior to that, he had two caretaker spells at Coventry and a short stint with Brentford, which was following by another period as caretaker at Birmingham in 2017.

Since then, he has been with England under 20s and 21s, where he won the European Championships, before stepping into the interim senior role after the departure of Gareth Southgate.

It is not known whether Carsley is keen to move into club management, but after his short spell as England boss he has now moved back to take the reigns of the under 21s.

Graham Potter

Whenever a job becomes available, whether it be at the top of the Championship or in the Premier League, the ex-Chelsea and Brighton boss seems to be linked.

And there will be no doubt be links to this one, partly down to the fact the former defender played 47 games for Albion in the 1990s.

He has been touted for jobs in both England and abroad, but is yet to return to management following his dismissal at Chelsea.

Potter still has a glowing reputation in management from his time at Ostersund, Swansea and Brighton. However, even with his links to Albion, this one seems highly unlikely, given he was rumoured to be under consideration for both the England job and the Manchester United role in recent months.

David Moyes

Another manager who is out of work, but is almost certainly out of Albion's range.

Moyes was dismissed by West Ham in the summer, just a year after winning the Europa Conference League in his second spell at the club.

The Scot had re-built the reputation he had garnered from his time at Everton, having had difficult spells at Man United, Sunderland and abroad.

He was unfortunate to lose his job at West Ham, and is another who is continually linked to vacant positions.

He hasn't managed in the Championship since his first spell in the dugout at Preston - and given his experience in the top flight he may well be hanging out for a Premier League job.