West Brom forced to cut budget by 30% - Corberan

Carlos Corberan took over as head coach at West Bromwich Albion in October 2022

West Bromwich Albion head coach Carlos Corberan has said the club's ability to compete in the transfer market this season has been hit by a 30% reduction in the playing budget.

Corberan, who is attempting to engineer another tilt at promotion back to the Premier League this season after reaching the play-off semi-finals last term, has revealed the extent of the financial limitations he has been working under following Shilen Patel's takeover in February.

Despite the American bringing fresh investment and hope, the financial repercussions from the previous regime under Chinese businessman Guochuan Lai are still being felt.

"I think this year we didn't have financial limitations [such as those from Lai] - we had a massive level of financial restrictions," Corberan told BBC Radio WM.

"They are not the same. Shilen's project couldn't be there, probably, because we had to decrease 30% the size of the group.

"So we reduced 30%, in terms of the salary, from the squad that made the play-offs, to face the season."

Having inherited a club that reported losses of £11m in 2022-23, Patel has also had to settle further debts accrued under Lai.

A near £5m loan taken out by Lai to prop up his other businesses during the coronavirus pandemic has been paid off, but two further loans with American investment group MSD Holdings, totalling £28m, is still being serviced.

In addition, a further £3.7m loan, taken out 10 years ago by then chairman Jeremy Peace, has been transferred to Patel and has to be paid off by June 2025.

It has led to Corberan having to box clever in the transfer market and tip-toe his way through the financial restrictions.

Fourteen players left in the summer ahead of this season to help ease the pressure, with 11 coming in, including a permanent seven-figure deal for winger Mikey Johnston from Celtic.

"We made a lot of changes with financial restrictions - not limitations," Corberan added.

"But the possibilities to make movements increased that's why we brought Johnston who was here last year - so that's not an improvement, it's trying to arrive to the level we had.

"We could do things to create a competitive squad, the most competitive we could with financial restrictions, with a lot of new players with no experience in the Championship."

The Spaniard added that he felt the club made a "very good effort" to create "the most competitive squad we could" during the summer but said the sheer number of new arrivals may have mistakenly raised hopes that another strong promotion challenge was a given.

"Sometimes the expectation changed. We changed many players, they finished their contract, we sold players like Okay [Yokuslu], [Conor] Townsend and [Brandon Thomas] Asante.

"We signed players because we needed to, we lost many players.

"Sometimes people see signings as a symptom of investment, but in some points it was a symptom of replacements to cover positions."

Albion 'growing' despite financial constraints

Corberan knows the purse strings are likely to remain tight for a while longer as the club tries to stay the right side of the English Football League's profit and sustainability rules, which allow for losses of up to £39m over a three-year period.

The financial results for 2023-24 are set to be worse due to the absence of parachute payments alongside the continued servicing of debts.

But Corberan struck an optimistic tone over the future.

"From when I arrived we have sold much more than we have invested, but from the moment I arrived here I don't think we stopped growing as a team," the 41-year-old said.

"I took the team in a challenging position and we are growing every year.

"We have created a competitive squad this year in financial restrictions, not because of me, because people here know what West Bromwich represents and the demands of the club.

"This club cannot accept some standards in the Championship. You cannot be a player in West Bromwich Albion and not be a level of player.

"West Bromwich is a massive club where you have to compete to win. This is the culture where we are and this is why we like to be here."

The Baggies, currently eighth in the Championship and two points outside the top six, are next in action against Bristol City at The Hawthorns on Sunday.

Torbjorn Heggem (centre) joined West Bromwich Albion from Swedish top-flight outfit Brommapojkarna on a three-year deal in the summer and has played in every Championship match this season so far