Tony Pulis will be confirmed as West Brom's new head coach by the weekend, Press Association Sport understands.
The former Stoke and Crystal Palace manager is set to replace Alan Irvine, who was sacked by the Baggies on Monday.
Pulis is expected to sign a two-and-a-half year contract at The Hawthorns and will be in the stands for the Baggies' New Year's Day trip to West Ham.
The 56-year-old is also happy to work within the current set up which has former Wimbledon boss Terry Burton as technical director and Richard Garlick as the director of football administration.
Pulis will be Albion's fourth head coach in just over 12 months since Steve Clarke was sacked in December 2013.
Tim Sherwood also held detailed talks about the post but has lost out for the second time after first being interviewed for the role after Pepe Mel left in May.
Irvine was sacked after just 198 days in charge following a run of seven defeats in nine games which has left the Baggies 16th in the Barclays Premier League.
Pulis is expected to be in place for Saturday's FA Cup third round visit of Gateshead and will be tasked with steering the Baggies away from the bottom three.
He has never been relegated as a manager and helped Crystal Palace to 11th in the top flight last season after taking over in November 2013.
He was named Barclays Premier League Manager of the Year for his work at Selhurst Park but left the Eagles in August.
The Baggies had vowed to move quickly after sacking Irvine on Monday and assistant head coach Rob Kelly was placed in temporary charge.