Who is Rene Hake? The head coach West Brom could be set to appoint | OneFootball

West Brom are reportedly in talks with Rene Hake over taking charge of the first team squad

West Brom are in talks with Rene Hake as a potential appointment to replace Carlos Corberan as their latest manager.

According to Fabrizio Romano, the Baggies have identified the Dutchman as a potential candidate to take over the first team squad.

Discussions are underway with the 53-year-old, who is currently out of work.

Corberan departed at the end of December, taking on the role of Valencia manager after a compensation fee worth around £3 to 4 million was agreed, via the BBC.

Here we take a look at who Hake is ahead of his possible arrival at West Brom…

Rene Hake’s coaching career

Hake was unable to make it as a professional footballer in the Netherlands, which led him to taking on coaching at a younger age than a lot of top level managers.

He worked with Emmen, taking on many roles in their underage side, including managing the team from 2003 to 2005.

The Dutchman returned to Emmen in 2010 to take over the senior first team squad, having moved to Twente in 2005 to work with their youth teams.

Hake spent a season and a half with the team before departing in the summer of 2012, overseeing just 13 wins and 13 draws from 60 games in charge.

This underwhelming spell led him to take on a role as an assistant coach.

First, Hake joined PEC Zwolle in 2012 before moving back to Twente in an assistant manager role in 2015.

The 53-year-old worked alongside Alfred Schreuder, arriving on a three-year deal, but was made interim head coach in August 2015 following the German’s departure, where he remained until 2017.

Hake went on to manage the Utrecht reserves, as well as the first team squad, before moving to Go Ahead Eagles in 2022.

Hake’s time in Dutch football came to an end in 2024, making the switch from Go Ahead Eagles to Manchester United.

He reunited with Erik ten Hag, with whom he worked with at Twente, becoming one of his assistants during the summer following the team’s eighth place finish in the Premier League.

However, Hake’s time at Old Trafford was short-lived, with the Netherlands native departing the club again in November following Ten Hag’s sacking.

Hake is currently out of work, thus opening the door to his appointment at West Brom.

He received criticism from the Go Ahead Eagles technical director, Paul Bosvelt, for the manner of his exit from the club last summer.

“I thought it was very strange it took so long for Manchester United to come forward,” he said, via Voetbal International.

“A bit of misplaced arrogance.”

Hake has yet to work as the main manager in English football, with Ruud van Nistelrooy taking over the role as interim manager at Man United when Ten Hag was dismissed.

It remains unclear whether he would be open to taking on a role that would keep him in England, or if he would be more welcome to a return to the Netherlands, where he has worked throughout the rest of his career.