West Brom could be handed financial lifeline as ‘significant’ £915m development emerges
West Brom could be in line for a big financial windfall as part of a landmark distribution deal set to be announced by the Premier League.
Sky News reported on Wednesday (1 November) that a proposed £915million ‘New Deal’ for English football will go to a ballot later this month.
As part of the agreement, if it is voted through as expected, the 72 EFL clubs would receive a share of that astronomical sum over a six-year period.
It is claimed that £88m will be handed to EFL clubs in the first year and will eventually rise to a £190m payment in the 2028-29 campaign.
As pointed out by former Birmingham Mail reporter Chris Lepkowski on Twitter (1 November), it is “a significant development” for EFL clubs.
Not least West Brom, who have had their fair share on financial problems and could do with cash coming in from somewhere.
After a summer of feeding off transfer scraps, and selling key assets, the situation behind the scenes remains very unclear ahead of the January window.
The Telegraph reported in September that American and Middle Eastern parties have held talks over ending Guochuan Lai’s time as majority shareholder.
The promise of a large payment as part of the Premier League’s ‘New Deal’ would surely only further tempt interested parties to push through a takeover.
If nothing else, it also ensures that West Brom will be able to continue ticking along financially as long as Lai is in place at The Hawthorns.
Now let’s just hope the deal is ratified at this month’s shareholders’ meeting to provide the Baggies with some rare positive off-the-field news.
In other West Brom news, Tony Pulis was left raging at an incident in Albion’s win over Coventry City.