Football finance expert reacts to latest West Brom development | OneFootball

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Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has given his verdict on the latest developments from West Brom.

It was announced earlier this week that the Baggies had agreed to borrow a second loan from MSD Holdings in the last 12 months.

It was not announced how big the second loan amounts to, with Albion previously receiving £20 million at the end of 2022.

West Brom are struggling financially under owner Guochuan Lai, who has put his stake in the club up for sale.

It is hoped that a deal can be agreed to sell the Championship side by the end of the year, with multiple parties showing an interest in taking over at the Hawthorns, but no concrete offers have yet been negotiated.

What is Kieran Maguire’s verdict on West Brom’s latest MSD Holdings agreement?

Maguire has claimed that the second loan from MSD Holdings is likely worth between £8 and 10 million.

He believes that this is a difficult time of year for clubs, which may have led to the decision to borrow some extra money

“MSD Holdings did lend £20 million to the West Bromwich Albion Group Limited, and West Bromwich Albion Group have borrowed more money,” said Maguire, via the Price of Football podcast.

“Now, we don’t know how much, but it seems to be probably in the region of £8m to £10m and it’s there to pay the wages.

“This always makes me slightly twitchy because if a football club is not generating enough money… November is a dreadful month for football clubs.

“You have the international break, so that’s one weekend not taking place, and you’re only actually selling a few thousand tickets for an individual match.

“West Bromwich Albion are likely to have a wage bill of probably in the region of £18m to 20m, and they’re probably generating six or seven thousand tickets at £20 a piece.

“They’ll be generating no cash around this time of year, so therefore it’s quite a challenging month.”

Where are West Brom in the Championship table?

West Brom are currently fifth in the Championship table, with Carlos Corberan’s side aiming to compete for promotion back to the Premier League.

The Baggies have been outside of the top flight since 2021, and finished ninth in the table in their previous campaign.

The Spaniard has received a lot of praise for the work he has done with the Midlands outfit since taking over 13 months ago.

Next up for Albion is a home clash against league leaders Leicester City on 2 December.

How significant is the latest development behind the scenes at West Brom?

The financial issues at West Brom are well known at this stage, so it is no real surprise that another loan has been sought by the owners.

If a sale is agreed by the end of the year then this should have very little long-term impact on the club.

It is a sign of how things have gone for the Baggies that they’ve needed to secure this extra funding to continue operating day-to-day costs.

But supporters will be hoping that it is ultimately a non-issue with Lai’s impending exit from the club.