Chris Lepkowski has laid out the “catastrophic” direction West Brom were heading if not for Shilen Patel buying out Guochuan Lai.
Patel’s Bilkul Football WBA, LLC group has agreed to purchase Albion via the club’s parent company West Bromwich Albion Group Limited.
The EFL has approved the deal and final confirmation is expected, as confirmed by the Baggies, at some point this week.
Lepkowski has now shared more details on how bleak the future looked for Albion prior to this takeover being pushed through.
“£2million a month [was being lost], which is just on basic outgoings,” he said on The Liquidator podcast [26 February, 9m 10s].
When losing money like that, it shows just how urgent the need for new owners was. Had Patel not come in, I dread to think how the next few months would unravel.
It’s not sustainable. We’ve seen other clubs just how damaging that can be. I’m optimistic we’ve got much better owners who are going to improve the club.
“We were heading for the rocks big time. We were in a lot of trouble; losing that amount is catastrophic.”
Shilen Patel awaiting final takeover confirmation at West Brom
Albion quite simply could not continue in the manner they were. Had Lai still been at the helm come the summer, you would seriously worry about the club’s future.
Thankfully, everything is now in place for Patel to come on board. While we still only know a small amount about the American entrepreneur, the early signs are positive.
Patel was at The Hawthorns for the recent loss to Southampton and it looks as though he will be a lot more hands-on when it comes to communicating with supporters.
Indeed, just being at the ground is an improvement. Patel will have big plans for Albion, no doubt, but the initial priority is simply to steady the ship.
A large part of the sum being handed over to Lai is effectively being used to pay off outstanding debts. Beyond that, there are general running costs that must be covered.
That is not even mentioning new contracts that need to be dished out and, hopefully, player sales in the summer. Patel certainly has his work cut out, but it makes for an exciting future.
