Joseph Masi says West Brom will have one of the biggest budgets in the Championship
West Brom will have one of the best budgets in the Championship if they are relegated according to Express & Star journalist Joseph Masi.
Chinese owner Guochuan Lai restricted the transfer budget available to Sam Allardyce in January as he was limited to three loanees, free agent Andy Lonergan and signing Robert Snodgrass for a nominal fee [The Athletic].
Masi does not expect there to be big transfer fees spent in the summer but is sure Albion’s overall budget will make them competitive.
He told the Baggies Broadcast, “They’re going to have a decent budget in the Championship next season.
“Albion will have had those parachute payments, they will have that Premier League money.
“If Albion are to come back down again, financially they will be in such a stronger position than any club in the Championship. They’ll be streets ahead of them.
“Of course it matters what the owner puts in and who the owner is.
“But next year I would imagine they’ll have a decent overall budget. They will have a competitive budget in terms of what they’re able to pay players. They’ll be right up there.”
Promising summer ahead
There is little doubt that a rebuild is likely at the Hawthorns in the next transfer window.
Albion are likely to lose four key loanees and there is also a chance Matheus Pereira and Sam Johnstone could leave.
Tottenham are linked with the goalkeeper [The Sun] and his potential transfer fee would be a big boost to the coffers.
However, according to Masi there should be enough in the budget to start the rebuild, and the parachute payments give us an advantage over most Championship clubs.
Allardyce staying could also prove very valuable as he has already proved adept in recruiting good players – on a tight budget too.
We are a Premier League pedigree club and Big Sam has a great reputation as a manager, so that undoubtedly increases our appeal.
Being able to afford the wages of high-grade loanees like Conor Gallagher and Ainsley Maitland-Niles could be the way forward.
That pair are very unlikely to be with us next season but we should look to sign players of their type of calibre.
After all, Grady Diangana and Pereira arrived on loan for the 2019/20 campaign and proved vital in getting us up.
Luke Dowling should already be lining up similar targets. If he does that we have a chance at bouncing back at the same time of asking.
In other West Brom news, Kevin Phillips expects Albion mainstay to leave the club if relegation is confirmed.
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