Exclusive: Harry Kane played vital role in Ryan Mason’s move to West Brom
Ryan Mason accepted the West Brom manager’s job after being urged to do so by Harry Kane, sources have told Football Insider.
Mason and Kane have remained good friends since their playing days together at Tottenham, and the 33-year-old coach has been on holiday with Kane in the last week.
It is believed the Bayern Munich star was instrumental in persuading Mason to take his first steps in management at the Hawthorns after previously rejecting offers to leave Spurs, including when he was offered the Anderlecht job at the end of last year.
Football Insider exclusively revealed on 24th May that Mason had opened talks to become the new West Brom manager as the club looked to replace Tony Mowbray, who was sacked on 21 April.
Talks between the club and the former Spurs coach reached an advanced stage by the end of May before Mason was given until Sunday night (May 31) to decide after being offered the post.
His arrival at The Hawthorns was officially confirmed 24-hours later, with Mason signing a three-year deal.
Mason’s contract at Spurs was due to end on 30th June, and there were no guarantees it would be extended with Ange Postecoglou’s future as manager in extreme doubt.
West Brom pin promotion hopes on Ryan Mason
The move brought to an end his seven-year coaching career at Tottenham. The ex-midfielder began his career at Spurs’ academy before going on to make 70 appearances for the first-team.
Mason emerged as the front-runner for the West Brom job despite having never previously held a top role, learning his trade under the likes of Postecoglou, Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte.
He took charge of Spurs on an interim basis on two separate occasions, but was never offered the job on a permanent basis.
| From | To | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win % |
| April 2021 | June 2021 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 57.14% |
| April 2023 | June 2023 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 33.33% |
Former West Brom boss Mowbray lasted just three months in the role at The Hawthorns, having arrived in January after Carlos Corberan left to join Valencia in a turbulent season at the West Midlands club.
After finishing ninth in their recently-completed Championship campaign, Albion are looking to achieve promotion next season following a four-year absence from the Premier League.
Tottenham renegotiating Mathys Tel deal
Meanwhile, Tottenham are preparing to return to the negotiating table with Bayern Munich in a bid to agree a cut-price permanent deal for Mathys Tel.
In an unexpected twist, sources say there is a willingness at Spurs to sign Tel, 20, despite his mixed loan with the club in the second half of the 2024-25 campaign.
Spurs confirmed Timo Werner would be returning to RB Leipzig and Kevin Danso would be joining permanently from Lens after the expiry of their loans – but made no mention of Tel.
Spurs’ budget and capacity to strike a deal has been subject to a double boost in recent weeks following the scrapping of a permanent Werner deal and qualification to the Champions League.