West Bromwich Gears Up to Replace Superstar with £105m Portuguese Star…
Former West Bromwich Albion and Brighton defender Sebastien Pocognoli has been named as the new Royale Union Saint-Gilloise head coach, the club have confirmed.
Alexander Blessin, who was appointed as manager of the Belgian top-flight side last summer, recently left to succeed Fabian Hürzeler in the St. Pauli dugout after the 31-year-old stood down from his position to be Roberto De Zerbi’s successor at the Amex.
Pocognoli was recently in charge of Belgium’s U18s side but the 36-year-old has now been announced by the 2024 Belgian Cup champions as their new manager, having signed a two-year contract, and will take his first training session on Monday as Union Saint-Gilloise begin pre-season preparations in The Netherlands.
The left-back had an esteemed playing career, winning the Eredivisie with AZ Alkmaar back in 2009 when former Manchester United and Barcelona boss Louis van Gaal was at the helm. Eventually, he found himself moving to West Bromwich Albion for a reported £1.5 million fee from German outfit Hannover in 2014 – a decade ago next week.
He joined the Baggies when Alan Irvine was in charge but quickly lost his place in the team once Tony Pulis took over a few months into his spell. Ultimately, the fullback’s time in the West Midlands didn’t go as planned as he made merely 21 appearances in all competitions and was even loaned out to Brighton during the 2016/17 campaign in which he helped steer the Seagulls to the Premier League for the first time in history.
