Today Chris Brunt . . . tomorrow Tony Mowbray

So it's all done and dusted then - and Tony Mowbray is back at The Hawthorns.

But it all means another irony in that Mowbray returns to take over from one of his first summer signings in that first spell in charge – Chris Brunt.

Brunt, aided by Damia Abella and Boaz Myhill, has been in interim charge of the players since the Christmas Eve departure of Carlos Corberan.

They will be in the dugout for the final time (and that's for definite this time!) at The Hawthorns on Saturday for the Midlands derby against Mark Robins' Stoke City.

In a final twist of fate, that means Mowbray's first official game back in charge of Albion will be next Saturday at his beloved Middlesbrough, where he served as captain and manager - and close to where the family home still is.

It all took 24 days to sort in the end - and what a three and half weeks the Baggies' extended festive season has been.

While the Albion hierarchy promised the search for the Spaniard's successor would prioritise detail over speed, impatience grew, especially when their original preferred candidate, Raphael Wicky, turned the job down because he was unable to assemble the backroom staff he wanted.

Earlier in the process, it was reported that former Hibernian, Celtic, Boro, Coventry City, Blackburn Rovers, Sunderland and Birmingham City boss Mowbray had been spoken to about the vacancy.

But that was before Mowbray had received the all-clear on the health front to manage again.

When that came this week, things moved a lot faster - and Wicky's loss is Mowbray's gain - and Albion's!

It remains to be seen what role former Baggies captain Brunt, previously in the role of 'loans manager' before his six-game stint as caretaker boss, will serve for the club.

He has enjoyed three separate promotions in the 18 years since he first joined the Albion payroll, the last of which involved captaining the Baggies to promotion back to the Premier League in his final game for the club in July 2020. It's hard to imagine there won't be another chapter.