Lewis Cox shares fresh update on West Brom takeover talks with EFL involvement mooted
Lewis Cox has reported there has been good progress made towards the West Brom takeover, with the EFL keeping track of the situation ahead of potential checks.
The Express and Star journalist shared that there is no time scale yet, with the takeover having to pass EFL tests before it can be rubber-stamped, but strong progress is being made.
This comes following the news that Shilen Patel is set to be granted exclusivity to agree on a £60million takeover of the club in the coming weeks. [The Telegraph, 12 January]
Cox was speaking on the Baggies Broadcast podcast on 15 January as he explained: “In terms of time scales, we can talk about exclusivity, we talk about it going through the EFL and the EFL’s testing and things like that before it’s rubber-stamped. I understand it’s good progress there.
“I’m not saying it’s definitively at the stage of fit and proper directors’ tests, but from what I believe, the EFL are well aware of the situation and are keeping track of it, so it sounds good from that perspective.”
Light at the end of the tunnel
After a long period of uncertainty about the ownership situation at West Brom, with concerns mounting over the financial situation particularly when the parachute payments from the Premier League were cut off in the summer, there now looks to be light at the end of the tunnel.
Cox was extremely positive about the possible takeover by Patel throughout the podcast, noting how from what he has read and heard he feels the new owner would be trustworthy and have the right values to take into a position as the owner of a football club.
Following on from the news that the bidder was granted exclusivity, there will now be a period to negotiate the full details of the takeover before the EFL begins its checks, but there is further hope that those will be passed.
There is still no guaranteed timeframe in place for the takeover to be rubber-stamped by the relevant parties, but the continued positive progress towards getting a deal done is great news for everybody at The Hawthorns.
In other West Brom news, international media slammed a Baggies player after what he did.