Joe Ellis

Wed 30 March 2022 8:00, UK

West Brom have managed to avoid paying a hefty compensation fee to former manager Valerien Ismael, according to the Express and Star.

The Frenchman was sacked as Baggies boss in February after a string of dire results on the pitch with Steve Bruce taking over days later.

But the Express and Star understand that he was actually placed on gardening leave by the club and was still receiving payment from the board up until the day he was hired by Besiktas in Turkey.

As a result, they say that “Albion will pay significantly less in compensation,” than if they had severed ties on the spot.

It is very similar to what they did with Slaven Bilic in 2020 who also found a new job rapidly after being relieved of his duties at The Hawthorns.

The compensation figure was looking like being in the six-figure region considering the length of time he still had left on his contract in the Midlands but his arrival at Besiktas takes that away from Albion.

Huge relief

This is big news for West Brom who will need every ounce of that six-figure sum this summer if they want to reinvent the squad at The Hawthorns.

Ismael’s downfall at the club looked obvious for some time with the Baggies struggling to score consistently all season long under his management.

Now the club has been saved from making the enormous transaction, they can afford to fully focus their coffers on bringing in players who can inspire a Premier League return.

Whether it is Bruce who leads Albion towards a promotion charge or if another new boss is brought in, they will need every penny the club has to overhaul the team which has largely underperformed for the last 18 months.

Fasten your seatbelts folks, this summer could be a wild one at The Hawthorns.

In other West Brom news, Ismael is planning to raid the Baggies in the summer with £2.5million ready to be splashed by Besiktas.

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