Carlton Palmer provides FLW with his assessment of the current West Brom ownership structure.
Owner Guochuan Lai has put the Baggies on the market in an effort to sell his shareholding in the Championship team.
Owner Guochuan Lai has put the Baggies on the market in an effort to sell his shareholding in the Championship team.
What does Carlton Palmer think of West Brom’s ownership situation?
Carlton Palmer believes the quicker a sale can be finalised the better for all parties involved.
The 57-year-old has claimed that the quicker everything is resolved the quicker that the team can focus on fighting for promotion back to the top flight.
“There are more talks ongoing about a new owner at WBA,” Palmer told Football League World.
“It is crucial that this occurs promptly.
“Guochuan Lai is looking to sell the club and would take £50 million, which is far less than the £200 million he originally spent for the team.
“It appears that the USA and the Middle East have interested parties.
“WBA is seeking to close a transaction this year.
“They have drawn their past three games and are presently ranked 13th in the Championship.
“The club is selling all of their best players this summer to balance the books, but they are not being replaced with players of even remotely comparable caliber.”
“The club is selling all of their best players this summer to balance the books, but they are not being replaced with players of even remotely comparable caliber.”
“The sale must close quickly to give the team a chance to try to return to the Premier League as soon as possible.”
The Midlands club’s asking price of £50 million, according to financial analyst Kieran Maguire, is too high.
According to Maguire, Leeds United was a club that was worth more than Albion at the time of its sale for £50 million.
He thinks a more reasonable asking price would be about the £30 million Sunderland cost to acquire.
The team led by Carlos Corberan is presently ranked 13th in the standings, having
Maguire has cited the £50 million sale of Leeds United as a club that was worth more than Albion currently is.
He believes a figure closer to the £30 million that Sunderland cost to take control of as a more realistic asking price.
Carlos Corberan’s side are currently 13th in the table, having finished ninth in the standings in the previous campaign.
The Spaniard will be aiming to steer the team towards a top six finish in their bid to gain promotion to the Premier League.
Next up for West Brom is a clash away to Preston North End on Saturday afternoon.
What next for West Brom? It’s highly unlikely that any takeover for West Brom will be completed this year, as these things take time to finalise. However, agreeing a deal is the first major step needed to be taken, and that can happen in 2023 if Lai makes reasonable demands. Maguire seems to think that the businessman needs to lower his asking price, so it remains to be seen if he will be willing to do that. Agreeing a deal should allow the new potential owner to start helping ease the financial burden before they actually take over.
This could help save the club from needing to sell key players in January if agreed by then.
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