West Brom's club record transfer and whether Shilen Patel could break that in January | OneFootball

FLW reviews West Brom’s club record transfer and whether Shilen Patel could break that figure during the remainder of the January transfer window.

Over the years, West Brom have spent significant sums of money on players to keep them competing at the top levels of English football.

In recent times, the Baggies had an excellent eight-year stay in the Premier League between 2010 and 2018, using the funds to recruit some talented footballers to The Hawthorns.

Although Albion have slipped back down to the Championship, new controlling shareholder Shilen Patel has given West Brom fans excitement that a high level of investment will be injected back into the club to get them fighting back in the top flight.

Due to existing financial pressure on the club, the Florida-based businessman will have to bide his time before splashing the cash, but, eventually, the Albion coaching staff should be backed to build a team to end their exodus from the Premier League.

With this in mind, Football League World takes a look at West Brom’s club record transfer, and whether Shilen Patel could break that during the remainder of the January transfer window.

West Brom’s club record signing

According to Transfermarkt, West Brom’s club record signing is former forward Salomon Rondon, who joined Albion back in 2015 for an estimated fee of €17 million (£14.7 million) from Zenit St Petersburg.

The Venezuelan international would go on to lead the line in the Black Country for three seasons, recording 108 appearances in the Premier League during that time.

A presence up front with his huge size and physicality, Rondon netted nine goals in his debut season, taking to life in the top flight with ease as the Baggies secured a 14th placed finish under Tony Pulis.

The now 35-year-old would score eight times the following term as Albion broke into the top half of the Premier League table, but Rondon’s seven goals in his final term couldn’t prevent the Baggies from suffering relegation back down to the Championship.

In total, Rondon netted 24 goals and registered seven assists from 108 top flight games.

At the time, the hefty transfer fee spent on the frontman was worth every penny, with Rondon playing a key role to Albion’s stay in the Premier League, while supplying a consistent number of goals to help the Baggies compete among England’s elite sides.

Could Shilen Patel break the figure in January?

With the West Midlands outfit being placed under an EFL-posed business plan to avoid breaking Profit and Sustainability rules (PSR) at the beginning of the season, Shilen Patel has been working closely with second tier officials to help the club avoid facing any sanctions.

It will take time before Patel can show his full intent and build what side he wants to see during his time here with serious investment, but Albion gaining promotion back to the Premier League this season would speed up the process.

However, with Albion still remaining in the second tier and well-documented reports about their financial struggles, it would be astounding to see Patel break their current record transfer figure in January.

The only way the club would be able to spend a similar sum of money again is if they were a Premier League side, with the money received for promotion out of the Championship an astronomical amount.