Shilen Patel drops update on West Brom future | OneFootball

The Baggies Chairman Shilen Patel is confident that there is a light at the end of the tunnel regarding Albion’s financial position.

West Brom Chairman Shilen Patel has issued an update on Albion’s financial plans, insisting he is confident the future of the club is brighter, and they are in a much healthier position moving forward.

Since becoming controlling shareholder at The Hawthorns nearly two years ago, the Florida-based businessman has had some challenging times leading the club, attempting to comply with the EFL’s profit and sustainability rules.

This has largely been down to the misspending under the previous regime of Guochuan Lai, with Patel and his team inheriting a club that was on the brink of administration and a points deduction.

During the fiscal year of 2023-24, West Brom recorded losses of £33.9m, leading to the Black Country outfit having to unwillingly sanction sales of their top first-team assets.

Albion were particularly hurt this season, waving goodbye to the likes of Darnell Furlong, Torbjorn Heggem and academy graduate Tom Fellows.

It’s no surprise to see the Baggies languishing where they are in the Championship table given they have lost such fantastic second-tier players at both the back and in the final third, while they were for much of this season, under a novice coach in Ryan Mason.

Now, the long-term project will hopefully be instilled under Eric Ramsay, with the Shrewsbury-born Welshman tasked with trying to turn around an underperforming squad that is low on confidence.

The 34-year-old boss will be encouraged by the words of Patel on their financial position though, with a much more openness to spend giving him the opportunity to stamp his authority on the playing squad the longer his tenure goes on.

Shilen Patel outlines West Brom financial update

At Eric Ramsay’s first public press conference as West Brom boss, he was joined alongside the Chairman and controlling shareholder Shilen Patel, who also faced questions from the media about his latest appointment.

And speaking to the BBC, he went into detail about where the club stands from a financial point of view this coming summer.

The 45-year-old revealed that he is confident that the future is bright, and the club will be in a much healthier position, allowing for further investment into the playing squad as they prepare for the 2026-27 campaign.

Patel said: "I believe we are. This was probably the most challenging of the three-year cycle - we've had so many PSR elements that we inherited.

"We are now at a point where, through some difficult decisions and manoeuvring around how we turn the squad over, I feel good about where we are relative to future compliance.

"It hasn't been painless, or without its challenges, but, in the things we can control and manage, the club is getting better.

"We continue to be committed at making things better. We can't promise perfection, but we can promise commitment to improvement."

All connected with West Brom can look forward to a prosperous future

It’s been a really challenging period of time for all connected with West Brom due to the ongoing financial barriers that the club faces.

It’s really hindered Bilkul’s ability to invest heavily in the playing squad and push towards achieving their ambition of returning the club to the Premier League, and instead have had to part ways with their best players in order to keep the club financially afloat.

It hasn’t helped that the hierarchy have been wrong on their last two managerial appointments since Carlos Corberan exited the club in December 2024, adding further disappointment by having coaches who couldn’t get the best out of the current playing squad.

But they will be hopeful Ramsay can be the man to transform their fortunes. A similar taskmaster to Corberan with his eye for detail and intellectual nature, Albion will have to see how far they can go under the Welshman over the final 20 games of this term.

And if improvement is seen under a coach who can be proactive and has excellent in-game management, then optimism could build about what players he can bring into the building once their financial woes ease.

So, if Ramsay can prove himself to be an excellent Championship coach, paired with the ownership's ability to pump more money into the playing side, it could have the Albion faithful excited of where they can go over the coming years.