West Brom owner Shilen Patel and Championship badge in inset.

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West Brom's SCR position examined as grim reality brought to light at The Hawthorns

Senior Correspondent AUTHORITY Senior sports journalist with experience at Sports Mole and VAVEL; Masters graduate from Liverpool John Moores University. FOCUS Breaking news, long-form analysis, and club-level insight across the Breaking Media network. THE INSIGHT Declan utilises a network of club and industry contacts to deliver verified, high-speed reporting. He provides the depth behind the headlines — from breaking news to analytical deep-dives — to ensure fans get the full story as it happens.

Published on:

06 Jul 2026, 3:10 pm

West Bromwich Albion may have more financial issues to deal with in the near future.

The Baggies have struggled to stay on the right side of Profit and Sustainability (PSR) issues in recent years.

The Championship is now moving to a squad-cost ratio system (SCR) and that could affect the Albion and many others.

West Brom fans had been assured that they would be able to spend ahead of the 2026-27 season.

They have done that, bringing in Max O'Leary, Matt Ingram, Carter Pinnington, Jimmy-Jay Morgan and Barney Stewart.

However, The Hawthorns outfit may be set for a grim reality check after a new revelation.

What is the latest West Brom position?

The new SCR rules mean that a second tier club can only spend 85 per cent of their revenue on squad costs.

New figures revealed by Kieran Maguire show that the Baggies were spending 183 per cent of their revenue on wages and amortisation at the moment.

That is the highest margin in the division, with Cardiff being the closest at 167 per cent.

Under the new EFL Championship SCR rules a club can only spend 85% of revenue on squad costs. This is a slightly crude (as uses all wages and excludes player sales) indicator of how much work is to be done as takes wages and amortisation as % of revenue pic.twitter.com/YveGXWi3a3
— Kieran Maguire (@KieranMaguire) July 6, 2026

However, it is not as bad as it seems for James Morrison's side, ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.

New Championship SCR rules explained as West Brom launch summer reset

Why do West Brom have financial wriggle room?

The figures from financial expert Maguire do not take into account player sales, and the Baggies have sanctioned a lot of those recently.

In order to try and stay on the right side of PSR, they have sold the likes of Alex Palmer, Tom Fellows and Torbjorn Heggem, for a total amount in the region of £22million.

They have also released high earners, such as Daryl Dike, Josh Maja and ex-club captain Jed Wallace.

Bilkul Football will be keen not to get burned by the new regulations, so they will surely do everything required to stay within the lines.

The Albion will not have as much work to do as the numbers suggest, so there is no need for panic at the minute, and they can plan as normal for the new season.

The ownership have done a good job of keeping supporters updated with the financial situation and if there was any risk of a SCR breach, they would know about it, and would not be spending like they are.

It may look grim, but work is constantly being done to stay on the right side of the new regulations.

Jed Fearnley Wallace

Daryl Dike

West Bromwich Albion Football Club

Shilen Patel