The supporter group reacted via Twitter on 23 February after a statement was released by the club the same day indicating that the takeover was now expected to be concluded the following week.
The American has already been given approval by the EFL to buy out Chinese businessman Guochuan Lai’s shareholding, necessitating arrangements to be made across three areas of the world for the deal to be concluded, following announcement of a deal on 15 February.
Action for Albion wrote: “3 Lawyers in 3 different time zones and throw in a Chinese New Year (like a bank hol for us) and understandable small delay.
“We’ve waited X number of days we can wait a handful more. Look forward to welcoming Mr Patel soon.”
No concern on West Brom takeover from Guochuan Lai
Any delay at this stage might understandably make fans edgy that the new era that has been promised might be snatched away at the death, but it would take a monumental collapse at this stage for that to happen.
Incorporating American, British and Chinese input into one transaction worth millions of pounds is easier said than done, especially with a public holiday thrown in, although supporters might feel like it is an important enough matter to simply get together in person and get it over the line.
Since there is no indication that anything has gone awry it should just be a matter of time until the changeover is finally made official.
After years of increasingly bleak times under Lai, and even the weeks it took following the indication that a breakthrough had been made ahead of Christmas, a few more days won’t make a huge difference as long as Patel gets his feet under the table sooner rather than later.
He wouldn’t have been announced and present for the defeat to Southampton a week ago if there was still doubt involved so there appears to be nothing to worry about, even if the West Brom fanbase might not wish to take anything for granted in the context of the club’s recent history.
