Celtic are pinning their hopes on Albion manager Tony Mowbray walking out on the club after refusing to meet the £2 million compensation clause in his contract.
The drawn out saga has taken a fresh twist today after Jeremy Peace’s stern statement yesterday insisted Mowbray would go nowhere unless the club’s valuation was met.
As a result, Celtic have contacted their governing body, the Scottish Football Association, who confirmed that if Mowbray was to resign from The Hawthorns no compensation would be required to sign the Baggies boss. The English Football Association has also confirmed the ruling.
"If Tony Mowbray were to resign his position with West Bromwich Albion and then join Celtic then, as far as we are concerned, there would be no statutory requirement for Celtic to pay compensation," SFA spokesman Rob Shorthouse confirmed.
"Mr Mowbray's contract is not lodged with the SFA so there is no question of compensation as far as we are concerned. West Bromwich Albion may adopt a different position but that would be our stance on the matter."
If Mowbray were to resign from his post a spokesperson for the FA confirmed that Albion would not be in line for any indemnity from the Scottish runners-up as there is no such agreement concerning the matter between the FA and the SFA.
“There is no formal arrangement for this, as there clearly is when it comes to players making a cross-border move while under contract," he said.
"It would depend on the terms of severance in the individual manager's contract. Usually, any money paid in these situations is to cover managers breaking their contracts rather than compensation as such.
"The situation is entirely contractual and depends on what the individual is obliged to do."
With reports north of the border suggesting Mowbray has already agreed to become the new boss at Parkhead one option for the former Hibs boss is to buy out his contract – once he’d resigned. However, that would mean Mowbray having to pay hefty tax and national insurance payments – which Celtic are likely to cover.