Credit: Breaking Media

Declan Carr

Fri 3 April 2026 12:30, UK

West Bromwich Albion are nowhere near the Championship promotion race, and a new reveal on agent fees shows why that is the case.

The Baggies’ financial issues have been well documented in recent years after Bilkul Football took over from Guochuan Lai.

Shilen Patel and Co have worked hard to try to solve the financial issues, but they are not out of the woods just yet.

Figures released by the Football Association on 1 April show that the Baggies spent £1,346,030 on agent fees from 4 February 2025 to 2 February 2026.

That figure is the sixth-lowest in the second-tier, which gives an insight into why West Brom are struggling to get back to the Premier League.

Why are the numbers so bad for West Brom?

West Brom’s figures are so bad because only five teams spent less on agent fees in the period in question.

For comparison, promotion contenders Ipswich Town spent £11,738,920 in the same area, Southampton paid out £8,381,358, and Middlesbrough spent £2,900,314.

Of course, the financial problems have to be taken into account, but The Hawthorns outfit should be spending more if they want to taste the top-flight again.

Why is it not all doom and gloom for supporters

It is not all bad for the Baggies, they are expected to be out of the most difficult financial troubles by the start of next season.

A statement from the then club president, Andrew Nestor, who has since been relieved of his duties, claimed that the Black Country club would be in a “strong position” to comply with Profit and Sustainability by the time the 2026/27 campaign comes around.

That should allow them to spend more on transfers, rather than relying on free transfers and loans, which should, in turn, take them up the table as they can bring in better quality players.

That will inevitably increase their spending on agent fees, as they transition to a more expensive player trading model, free of the PSR concerns that have hampered them for the last few years.

There should be brighter times on the horizon for the Baggies, provided that they can stay in the division at the end of the season, which looks likely at the moment.