Roberto De Zerbi is ready to hear Tony Bloom’s plan for Albion next season.

The head coach has revealed he has spoken to the chairman and assessed the current campaign in the past week.

He said their meeting lasted about 20 minutes and ended with a hug.

The next step is to hear what the plans are for 2024-25.

De Zerbi is preparing his team to face an Aston Villa side who could clinch their Champions League berth tomorrow with the right combination of results.

Albion have seen their own European ambitions slip away over recent games and the season has fallen short of De Zerbi’s targets, which were semi-finals of the Europa League and FA Cup and a serious push for Thursday night UEFA competition.

He said of his conversations with Bloom: “We have to speak (again) in the future, the next week, the next days.

“We have spoken about what we’ve done and we started to speak about the future, but we have to speak more, to analyse the plan better.

“He will tell me what he wants from me and I want to listen what is the plan, what is the target, what he thinks.”

He added: “I would like to improve season by season, game by game, year by year and I always want something more, from myself, from the other people that work with me, everyone.

“I have a clear conscience, very clear.”