West Bromwich Albion’s £60m takeover saga drawing to a close with American businessman Shilen Patel favourite to end Guochuan Lai’s disastrous tenure
- Baggies is cautiously hopeful that the club will finally be sold within a month
- Chinese owner Lai bought the club for £175 million in 2016 but did not invest any money
- CHRIS SUTTON on sledging, expletives and verbal jousting on the field – It’s all Kicking Off podcast
West Bromwich Albion are cautiously hopeful the club will be sold within a month to end a long-running takeover saga at the Championship side.
The asking price for Albion is estimated at almost £60 million – around £28 million for the club itself, with the rest covering the debt.
It is believed that American businessman Shilen Patel is still the frontrunner to take power and end Guochuan Lai’s disastrous ownership.
Despite suggestions in recent times that lawyer Chris Farnell was preparing a bid for the club in partnership with local businessman Alex Hearn, the pair are not believed at this stage to be strong contenders to succeed Lai outright.
Lai bought the club from Jeremy Peace in 2016 for £175m and from day one it was clear to the Chinese investor that he would not be putting much of his own money into it.
West Brom is cautiously optimistic that the club’s lengthy takeover saga can be completed. American businessman Shilen Patel, pictured as CEO of HealthAxis, is front-runner to take over at West Brom
In December 2022, Albion took out a four-year £20 million loan from MSD Holdings to cover the drop in turnover due to relegation.
Lai also took £10 million in loans from the club, which he has failed to repay. At the end of last year there was another loan from MSD, believed to be between £6 and 8 million.
Top earner Kyle Bartley is said to collect around £38,000 a week – a huge salary in the post-Covid Championship – and is one of several team members who earn more than £1million a year.
Guochuan Lai has come under heavy criticism since taking over the club for £175 million in 2016
West Brom’s wage cap for new players is now estimated at around £10,000 per week and there is limited scope to strengthen Carlos Corberan’s squad, although homegrown Tom Fellows has signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract signed. January.
Albion are fifth in the Championship and will take on Ipswich at Portman Road on Saturday.