Much to the credit of Carlos Corberan, West Bromwich Albion have firmly remained in the early race to secure a play-off place in the Championship this season, despite financial troubles away from the pitch. The ownership of Lai Guochuan has brought with it several issues over the years, making him an unpopular figure at The Hawthorns.
The Championship side’s owner has missed deadlines to pay back loans and landed the club in financial trouble in what has been a nightmare tenure since 2016. Putting the club up for sale, however, those at West Brom could finally see an end to Lai’s time at the helm, with one reporter providing a major update on the potential sale of the club.
West Brom takeover news
It remains to be seen just who the new owners of West Brom will be, but at this stage the Baggies will simply be hoping to avoid a repeat of Guochuan’s financial failure. It’s clear that, on the pitch, Corberan is capable of guiding his side back towards the great heights that they were once at, and he has proved that even without significant investment. So, with that said, if the current manager had the opportunity to welcome reinforcements through a takeover, then West Brom could go all out for a proper promotion push.
Tom Collomosse provided some positive news, saying via The Mail that West Brom’s takeover is closer than it’s ever been under Guochuan. He said: “It’s closer now than it has been at any point under Lai’s ownership. The price is about £60m (including paying off the MSD loan) and I believe all three interested parties have strong links to the US.”
West Brom fans are seemingly edging closer and closer to the beginning of a new era and hopefully one without consistent financial failings in a period of history to forget at the club.
West Brom closer than ever to takeover
For those at The Hawthorns, the hope will be to see any takeover reach completion before the January transfer window to hand Corberan the crucial chance to improve his side even further. As things stand, they sit seventh and only outside the play-off places due to Sunderland’s better goal difference. Whilst it would be a major shock if West Brom secured not only a play-off place, but also eventual victory at Wembley, they shouldn’t be written off amid financial difficulty, especially if the sale of the club goes through.
Recently speaking about the potential takeover, Corberan told the Birmingham Mail: “I don’t like to think to change the circumstances that I am working, I know I have these circumstances and what we need to do is get the best from these circumstances. We are here for a reason and I always say to the players this is our moment to be part of the history of West Bromwich Albion, depending on which type of history we’re going to write in the club.
He then went onto say: “It is important not to be looking what this club has been before. Now you have the responsibility to do things better and to be in this moment. This moment is a challenge, and we need to just give our best.”
