West Brom can be ‘saved’ quickly from ‘nerve-wracking’ financial worries
West Brom “can be saved quite quickly” from their financial situation despite missing out on promotion, according to Dean Jones.
The Baggies narrowly failed to get into the Championship play-offs last season after a major turnaround in fortunes once Carlos Corberan took over, but are in the difficult position during the transfer window of having to let players go to balance the books.
Dara O’Shea has been sold to Burnley for £7million, Karlan Grant has gone on loan to Cardiff City, and Nathaniel Chalobah is on the brink of an exit to Maccabi Haifa in Israel [John Percy, 18 July], but Jones doesn’t feel the Baggies are beyond hope.
The former Eurosport journalist spoke to GIVEMESPORT and said: “It’s always nerve-wracking when you’re in a situation like this as a club. West Brom missed their opportunity to bounce back up to the Premier League.
“As soon as that passes, with every year, you wonder if you’re gone for good. When you lose valuable players, you fear what drop you’re heading on.
“There is the potential here that West Brom can be saved quite quickly. But from a fan point of view, it’s always worrying when you’re in a scenario like this.”
Encouragement
The manager and the supporters will certainly be hoping that departures can be kept to a minimum after Chalobah’s exit.
If Corberan can keep the majority of his squad together despite some notable exits then there is scope for him to achieve something with the Baggies in the new season.
Clearly it won’t be easy, and he would certainly be boosted by some arrivals if it is at all possible, but the Albion’s form last term under the Spaniard was almost good enough for a play-off place so with the benefit of 17 games lost to the Steve Bruce era he would likely have been in the running for automatic promotion.
The concerning finances, the ownership situation, and the departure of Ron Gourlay all combine to make it a less than comfortable summer.
But, so far at least, the club haven’t exactly had to sell all hopes in the market and, despite the extensive links to Leeds, they have kept hold of the manager.
It likely is going to be a slog once the new season gets under way, but if Corberan can use a full preseason to build on the positive aspects of last year then perhaps there is hope that the stay in the second tier doesn’t have drag on into the distance.
In other West Brom news, Corberan is regretting not going to Leeds United when he had the chance a pundit has claimed.