Imminent fire sale could leave Carlos Corberan questioning West Brom managerial future
Carlos Corberan may start mulling over his long-term future at West Brom after the club missed out on the Championship playoff spots by a mere three points.
The Baggies fell to a final-day 3-2 defeat to Swansea City that left them 9th in the table at the end of a tumultuous season that included the sacking of Steve Bruce, the arrival of Corberan, and so much more.
However, after failing to secure a spot in the playoffs, Corberan could be set for an immediate knock-out blow, with the Daily Mail sharing last month (29 April) that an imminent fire sale of several first-team stars is expected in order to balance the books at The Hawthorns.
The report said: “The club have been struggling with cash-flow problems all season and gambled on promotion by borrowing £20million from MSD Capital to avoid selling players in January, but will struggle to secure more lending while they are still in the Championship.
“To compound matters, their parachute payments from the Premier League will reduce to around £15m next season, so selling players such as Dara O’Shea and Karlan Grant is the only way they can survive.”
If such plans are true, and the likes of O’Shea, who has been an integral cog to the first-team this term, is set to be sold, what does this say about the ambition of the club?
Corberan turned down the opportunity to go for the Leeds United managerial vacancy earlier this season and pledged his colours to West Brom by signing a contract extension until the summer of 2027, but such despairing circumstances could alter his mindset.
The Spanish manager has been the brightest spark in West Brom’s gloomy recent history, and they must do all they can to keep him at the club for the long-term future.
However, without a squad capable of competing for Championship promotion and any significant investment in the summer transfer window, things could turn sour between Corberan and the board sooner than first expected.
In other West Brom, here is how we rated the players for their performances in the 3-2 defeat to Swansea City.