West Bromwich Albion: 5 Potential Candidates to Replace Roy Hodgson

As the Premier League offseason begins, some clubs face the task of hiring a new manager, and one of those clubs is West Bromwich Albion.

With Roy Hodgson taking the England job, the managerial position at the club is currently vacant.

This leaves plenty of speculation about who may replace Hodgson.

Here are five candidates that may take over the job and look to improve on the club's 10th place finish this season.

As of now, Chris Hughton is the favorite to take over the reins at The Hawthorns.

If appointed manager, Hughton would have his second spell in the Premier League as a manager, having previously been in charge at Newcastle United.

This season, Hughton led Birmingham City to a spot in the Championship promotion playoffs, but the Blues lost in the semifinals to Blackpool, missing out on just a one-year stay in the second tier of English football.

Last time the Baggies had a managerial vacancy, Hughton was the favorite as well, but the job eventually went to Hodgson.

Michael Appleton is a very intriguing choice as the next West Brom manager.

Appleton has become a fan favorite while being in charge at Portsmouth, even though the club were relegated to League One.

That relegation was not Appleton's fault as the club were docked 10 points after going into administration.

Appleton is also tied to West Brom as he was the first-team coach from 2009 to 2011 and also played two seasons at the club before being forced to retire due to injuries.

Bringing in someone with no Premier League experience like Appleton would be taking a huge risk on the part of the board at West Brom, but the decision could turn out well in their favor as the 36-year-old did a decent job with Pompey this season.

With every Premier League job opening this summer will come a Paul Lambert mention.

Fans and club officials alike are beginning to recognize Lambert and the job he has done at Norwich City since 2009.

Lambert has taken the Canaries from League One to 12th place in the Premier League.

The 42-year-old is going to be a hot commodity this offseason as Aston Villa are also interested in the former Celtic midfielder.

Gus Poyet is also one of the hot coaching commodities in England as he has impressed many people with the job he has done at Brighton and Hove Albion.

Poyet left his assistant position at Tottenham in 2008 and one year later led Brighton away from relegation from League One in the 2009-10 season—and one year after that made them champions of the third tier in England.

In their first season in the Championship, Poyet led the Seagulls to a 10th place finish, making Albion one of the contenders for promotion to the Premier League next season.

Poyet does have Premier League experience by being Juande Ramos' right-hand man at Tottenham and should be able to hold his own if the Baggies come calling.

Alan Curbishley has an outside shot at the West Brom job, but if the Baggies are looking for an experienced manager then the 54-year-old may be the man. 

Curbishley missed out on the Wolves job earlier this year after Mick McCarthy was sacked and is looking to get back onto the managerial scene.

Most recently Curbishley was with West Ham for two seasons from 2006 to 2008 and is a manager that knows the Premier League.