"Can operate better in the future" - Confidence placed in West Brom owner Shilen Patel amid £33.9m losses in 2023/24 | OneFootball

FLW's West Brom fan pundit is backing new owner Shilen Patel to lead the club into a brighter financial future.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

West Brom's 2023/24 financial accounts showed the club had made a significant loss, but FLW's Albion fan pundit is backing new owner Shilen Patel to guide them into a brighter financial future.

The Baggies were revealed to have lost £33.9m over the course of the 2023/24 financial season, as the club look to line their coffers via a Premier League promotion this term.

It was a financial year that saw the club no longer receive parachute payments following their 2021 relegation from the top flight, something that will no doubt have played a factor in these figures too.

Tony Mowbray's side are hovering around the play-off places, and will be looking to make a real push for a place back in the top flight for the first time since 2021.

"Something Patel was aware of" - West Brom losses acknowledged but there is confidence in new owner Shilen Patel

We asked our West Brom fan pundit, Callum Burgess: 'Club accounts for 2023/24 showed a £33m loss - numbers aren't known for 2024/25 yet, but do you think that's cause for concern for the future? Similar numbers could lead to a big player sale this summer?'

Burgess said: "We were told that such figures, whilst they are quite massive, they were to be expected this season on the back of Guochuan Lai's era at the club.

"It was something that Shilen Patel was aware of at Albion, and that they were operating with this in mind in the summer.

"So I think whilst a £33m loss is of course a lot of money, it shows that now the time has been turned on the Guochuan Lai era, hopefully this is an example of what owners like Lai can do to English football clubs.

"They have been operated at this level of losing so much money. Luckily for Albion, we've had Patel come in for us, whilst many other clubs, if they've got an owner like Lai, they might not be so lucky.

"So, I think whilst of course it is a big amount of money that's been lost, Patel has been doing his best at Albion to turn the tide from this, and make sure this doesn't happen again, and Albion can operate better in the future."

Confidence is high among the West Brom faithful that their club is in safer financial hands with Patel at the helm.

However, should Albion need to raise some cash in the summer transfer window, then Mowbray's squad is laden with highly sellable assets.

Josh Maja has been the subject of reported big-money interest from Premier League duo Chelsea and Tottenham, whilst 21-year-old academy graduate Tom Fellows has also been linked with a move to the top flight.

Therefore, should the Baggies be forced to sell this summer to ensure their financial health, especially if they remain in the Championship for 2025/26, then Patel and the club's hierarchy will have a number of potential avenues within the playing squad to make that happen.