West Brom set for ‘sickening’ financial blow – ‘It’s worse than Covid’
West Brom are set for a ‘sickening’ financial blow according to Accrington Stanley owner Andy Holt.
The owner of the League Two outfit claims that the Government’s increase in the amount of national insurance employers will have to pay is going to spell “disaster” for EFL clubs.
The rate of National Insurance that employers will have to pay is set to rise in April next year from 13.8 per cent to 15 per cent.
Holt warned that the change will cause excruciating damage to clubs outside of the Premier League, telling The Sun (page 53, 20 November): “What the Labour Government have done to us, and many more, it’s sickening.
“It’s worse than Covid because it’s going to take a substantial amount of cash out of clubs each year with no way of getting it back.”
West Brom cannot afford another financial blow
If Holt is correct and the measures introduced by the Government will have a devastating effect on EFL clubs, then West Brom might struggle more than their Championship rivals.
The Baggies were placed under an EFL-imposed business plan in August [Rob Dorsett, Sky Sports, August 3] as they were on course to break Profit and Sustainability Rules.
Therefore transfers and wage costs are reportedly under strict EFL scrutiny at The Hawthorns, with no further clarity since the August update.
They could cash in on star forward Josh Maja to ease those concerns, with Celta Vigo and Real Sociedad reportedly interested in the 25-year-old Nigerian, who would command a hefty £16million price tag.
The off-field issues have not affected the club on the pitch it would seem, with the Baggies sitting in fifth place in the Championship.
Carlos Corberan will hope that the victory against Hull City before the international break can be the turning point that drives his side up the table, either securing automatic promotion or strengthening their grip on a play-off place.
In other West Brom news, this Albion player’s loan spell could be over after a fresh injury blow.
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