West Brom are believed to finally be closing in on a takeover that should be positive news for fans at The Hawthorns but a report in the past 24 hours will surely have sparked major concerns attached to it.
The Daily Mail reported on 9 February that the club was “cautiously hopeful” that Guochuan Lai’s “disastrous” tenure would come to an end within a month, with Shilen Patel thought to remain the frontrunner in the race to buy out the Chinese majority shareholder.
The US-based bidder is said to have the backing of MSD Holdings [The Athletic, 12 January], who have loaned £26million to the club, which appears to give him and his family a key advantage over rival offers.
So if there is any truth the news that the Baggies boss could be moved out upon a takeover going through it would appear to risk dispensing with the club’s most prized asset.
Despite links to a Leeds United return twice last year Corberan signed a new deal and reaffirmed his commitment to the club, but in light of the work he is doing in difficult circumstances it is a surprise that he hasn’t been courted by more suitors.
The main bids involved in the takeover race are reportedly the Armenian Roman Gevorkyan, US-based Patel, and a British-Egyptian group put together by Chris Farnell and Mohamed Elkashashy, which contains Alex Hearn and is at the centre of disputed recent reports.
So it would appear the American said to be eyeing the Croatian coach Juric is Patel, which if the report is accurate would throw up a major red flag around his potential takeover.
It is not impossible that a new era at West Brom can’t be successful without the Corberan in charge but based on current evidence it looks like any new owner needs to be looking to cling onto the Spaniard for dear life and build their operation around him.
