Football finance expert Kieran Maguire has recently discussed the finances of West Bromwich Albion following their return to the Premier League.
During the 2019/20 season, the Baggies sealed promotion from the Championship after finishing second in the table, trailing Leeds United by 10 points (per Sky Sports).
The promotion meant that Slaven Bilic’s side returned to the top flight after two seasons away following their relegation during the 2017/18 term (per Transfermarkt).
Over the summer, it was reported that promotion from the Championship is thought to be worth around £180m to the promoted clubs, however, that will be £8m less than expected this year (via BBC).
During the latest episode of The Price of Football podcast, Maguire discussed the Baggies and aired how much he believed promotion will have been worth to them.
He said: “First of all, I think it’s a myth that you’re going to get £180m straight up from being promoted to the Premier League. That £180m consists of a minimum of one year in the Premier League and then two potential years of parachute payments.
“In terms of what West Bromwich Albion are likely to get, in their first year in the Premier League, taking into consideration the loss of the Chinese TV deal and the fact that rebates are being given to some other broadcasters, the side that finishes bottom of the Premier League this year I estimate will receive somewhere in the region of £80-85m.
“So, putting a transfer budget of £25m net against that, that allows you to increase your wage bill by probably around £35-40m. When they were in the Championship, West Brom were losing £350,000 a week.
“So, you’ve got to take that into consideration as well. So, there’ll be upgrades on one or two things to make them Premier League-compliant, there will be bonuses paid to the players and the management squad from last season.
“So, that’s where, if the club wants to break even, I would say potentially, a [transfer] spend in the region of £25-30m is probably about par.”
TIF Thoughts on what Kieran Maguire had to say about West Brom’s finances…
As can be seen in what Maguire had to say, even if the Baggies finish bottom of the top flight this season, he would expect them to receive around £80-85m.
The football finance expert also explained that the figure has been impacted by a number of factors, such as the Premier League terminating the £564m contract they had with a Chinese licensee in early September (per BBC).
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The discussion from Maguire came after it was claimed earlier in the year that the Baggies would have around £20-25m to spend during the recent transfer window.
Ultimately, it transpired that Bilic’s side did spend around that amount, as the club had a net transfer spend of £29.57m during the window.