Tom Fellows, Alex Palmer, Grady Diangana – West Brom PSR situation and who could be sold next
West Brom fans have endured a dramatic few days with it looking as though a number of first-team players are set to leave The Hawthorns.
It was announced on Wednesday (31 July) that Okay Yokuslu has re-signed for Turkish side Trabzonspor while on Thursday (1 July), Conor Townsend completed his move to Ipswich. Brandon Thomas-Asante is also closing in on a move to Coventry City.
Telegraph journalist John Percy reported on Wednesday that Premier League new boys Ipswich are paying £750,000 for 31-year-old left-back Townsend with Coventry paying at least £2.5million for Thomas-Asante, 25.
With Yokuslu, 30, already joining Trabzonspor for £1.5million, it means that Albion are getting around £5million for three players who made 137 appearances in all competitions for the Black Country club last season.
Who will West Brom sell next as they continue Hawthorns firesale?
Albion fans are understandably upset about the news that these players are going. However, it’s hardly the end of the world and should be treated as a much-needed pragmatic approach to the transfer window.
Supporters have often criticised Townsend for his lack of defensive ability while Thomas-Asante has similarly been scapegoated by sections of fans due to his lack of goals. Even Tony ‘Bomber’ Brown has some issues with BTA’s goalmouth blunders last term.
Yokuslu is a bit different. While he has blown hot and cold and had fitness issues during his time at The Hawthorns, last season was easily his best in blue and white stripes and it will be difficult to replace him.
However, Townsend, Thomas-Asante and Yokuslu were all in the final year of their contracts at The Hawthorns and instead of losing them for nothing next year, the decision has been made to raise some funds now while there’s a chance.
That’s because West Brom are under financial pressure to ensure they do not breach the EFL’s Profit and Sustainability Rules [The Telegraph].
As reported by Chris Lepkowski on Wednesday, West Brom’s next set of accounts for last season – which are due to be released in Spring 2025 – are expected to include PSR losses of between £23million and £26million.
West Brom to announce huge financial losses in next set of accounts
EFL clubs are not allowed to lose £39milion over a three-year period and there’s a chance Albion are going to have lost upwards of £34million for just the last two seasons alone. That’s the worst-case scenario but you can see why the club would be under pressure and skating on thin ice.
It shows that the criticism of Shilen Patel is unwarranted. The American businessman, who bought the club from Guochuan Lai in February, has already repaid Lai’s £4.95million loan to the club and ensured that we still have a club to support going forward.
So what if he’s sold your favourite player from last season if it means we don’t get a points deduction or worse?
Would you rather it was Tom Fellows or Alex Palmer who’d been sold?
We’ve seen a lot of weird deals being done in the Premier League this season because clubs who’ve been crippled by PSR have had to raise funds by whatever means necessary.
Aston Villa, Chelsea and Everton have all done deals involving the likes of Lewis Dobbin, Tim Iroegbunam, Omari Kellyman and Omari Hutchison because of PSR.
They are all young players who’ve spent time in their clubs’ academies but have been sold on because they’ve represented – in some cases – pure profit.
Albion could make a pure profit on academy graduates Fellows or Palmer.
Fellows is a 21-year-old English attacker who had a great season last time out and he’s also contracted until 2027. Fabrizio Romano reported in January that Everton had their sights on the winger. Palmer is a 27-year-old English goalkeeper approaching the peak of his career after winning the Championship Golden Glove last term. He’s contracted to the club until 2026.
It’s a tough one to take but selling one (mainly Fellows) or both of these players could solve West Brom’s PSR issues for the next few years but obviously, that would go down very badly and it would be incredibly hard to replace two academy lads who are impressing in the second tier.
But would you rather see these players leave than ones who can be replaced like Townsend, Thomas-Asante and Yokuslu? We signed those players before, remember, so why can’t we sign players just as good as them – if not better – again?
Grady Diangana and Karlan Grant are also two players who could be sold to raise some cash but, as pointed out by Lepkowski, if Albion were to sell them now they would make a huge loss on them. Maybe it’s best to give them a year of playing for Carlos Corberan to see what happens but Diangana is in the final 12 months of his contract so something needs to happen regarding him soon.
Who could West Brom sell next after Townsend, Thomas-Asante and Yokuslu? When you look at the squad, there aren’t many players who clubs will be after but Semi Ajayi, Darnell Furlong, John Swift and Jayson Molumby come to mind.
Ajayi, like Yokuslu, is 30 years old and as well as 29-year-old Swift, is in the final year of his contract. Furlong’s deal is also up next year and has been linked with a £2million exit already [Alan Nixon]. Pre-season boxing champion Molumby is 24 and his deal expires in 2025, too.
Ultimately, everyone is up for sale at The Hawthorns but some sales make more sense than others right now.
All in all, there’s no need to start thinking up conspiracy theories about Patel stripping the club of its assets (yes, someone unbelievably said that on the West Brom News Facebook page) or claiming that he’s just as bad as Lai was. This business right now is ensuring the safety of our club.
There will be new signings made, of course there will. But for a club like West Brom in the situation we’re in, it’s best to wait until late in the day to strike better deals.
In other West Brom news, fans are furious with an official club announcement, with one saying it’s why he didn’t bother to renew his season ticket.
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