Who is Shilen Patel? The potential new West Brom owner | OneFootball

Shilen Patel is in advanced talks with Guochuan Lai as he looks to complete a takeover of West Bromwich Albion.

It’s no secret that the Baggies fans are desperate for a change in ownership, with Lai coming in for fierce criticism due to the way he has run the club since buying them from Jeremy Peace around seven years ago.

Under the guidance of the Chinese businessman, Albion have dropped to the Championship, and there have been many financial issues, with Lai taking money out of the club for his other businesses, whilst they have also required loans from MSD Holdings.

So, there has been a desire for a takeover to happen, with a lot of speculation in the past few months about who could come in.

And, in a fresh development today, Telegraph reporter John Percy revealed that Patel is the preferred bidder as he looks to get a deal done for the Championship side.

Who is Shalin Patel?

The Florida businessman was the founder and CEO of HealthAxis Group, which is a software company based in Tampa.

He is also the son of Dr Kiran Patel, who has an estimated wealth in excess of $400m, and Shilen has now taken over the family business.

Interestingly, it was reported that Patel has links with MSD Holdings, who, as mentioned above, have loaned Albion around £27m, which makes them the biggest creditor of the club.

Shalin Patel has not invested in sport before

Unlike some you often see associated with football clubs, Patel has not been linked with sport before, so it is unusual in that sense.

Obviously, this means he has no background in the game, which would be a concern to some, but he is sure to bring in people who know the industry if his bid does manage to go through.

The fact he is a successful businessman in his own field will offer encouragement that he could be the man to bring brighter times to The Hawthorns.

Just because Patel has now been named as the preferred bidder, it doesn’t mean the takeover is going to go through tomorrow.

Even though this is a significant update, he would still have to pass the owner and directors test, and whilst you can’t put a specific timeframe on how long that will take, history suggests it can take plenty of time.

What that means for the January window remains to be seen, as Carlos Corberan would have been hoping that he would have additional financial support to strengthen his squad ahead of the deadline, as Albion push for promotion.

However, if a takeover is close to happening, it could ensure he does keep some key players at the club, with Cedric Kipre the latest to be linked with a move away.