West Brom: Chris Lepkowski responds to latest financial news as ‘concern’ verdict dropped
The timing of the latest loan West Brom have to pay back is “a concern”, according to former Birmingham Mail reporter Chris Lepkowski.
Speaking on The Liquidator podcast [10 December, 15m 38s], Adrian Goldberg shared that Albion have to repay a loan taken out by West Brom Holdings by February 8.
That is the latest of a number of loans to the Baggies’ name, with the repayment date coming a week after the January transfer window closes.
“I mean, when I was talking about us exploiting the loan market, that’s not quite what I had in mind,” Lepkowski joked. “It highlights the malaise we find ourselves in, and these things are going to come at us quickly in the coming weeks.
“If there isn’t some form of definitive news on where the club is going regarding its ownership, it’s a concern. It might go some way to explaining the loan that was recently taken out.
“The deadline being just after the window closes, I dare say there’s some significance there that should at the very least concern us.”
Spiralling
Whoever takes over as Albion’s new owners – if anyone does ever buy out Guochuan Lai – they have around £50million of debts to repay.
As Lepkowski points out, the fact this particular loan has to be paid off in early February is surely not a coincidence.
It has long been feared that the Baggies will have to cash in on a player or two in the January window in order to bring some funds in.
With a number of first-team stars out of contract in the summer, the unfortunate truth is that Carlos Corberan’s squad could slowly be broken up.
The bottom line is that the club must do whatever is necessary to ensure these debts do not continue to spiral out of control.
The £50m figure touted is a worry, especially as that number will likely only grow between now and the new owners coming on board.
If a star player is indeed sold early in the new year, let’s just hope Albion can take full advantage of the loan market to find a replacement.
In other West Brom news, an Aston Villa supporter could become a part-owner of the Baggies in a new twist.