The West Brom boss has had his say on what’s been a ‘challenging year’ for the Baggies.
West Brom have their issues off the pitch.
The club’s financial situation has been quite testing for a number of years now, though it seems like this year has seen the situation worsen.
In the summer transfer window, the Baggies were very limited in what they could do, with Josh Maja being the only permanent signing at the club.
And ahead of January, it’s reported that West Brom’s finances are set to reach the breaking point, with a takeover now vital for the club.
But there’s progress on the takeover front with owner Guochuan Lai apparently set to name a preferred bidder in the coming weeks and hand proceedings over to the Football League.
And now Carlos Corberan has had his say on the matter.
Carlos Corberan discusses West Brom takeover after ‘challenging year’
The well-liked Baggies boss was asked by Birmingham Live what he makes of the current takeover situation.
He said:
“There are things that I cannot control – and I’m a person who doesn’t like to be involved in things I cannot control. I like to be fully focused on the things I think I can control. In the evaluation of my players, I like to talk about if players are growing, if they’re not growing, if some need more minutes. You need to have a proactive conversation in this.
“With the things I cannot control, it can be something to do with the ownership, or the financial situation of the club, these are things that other people are in charge of. My job is to prepare for the games, to analyse the players, these things. I know that I am very calm because the people, especially Mark [Miles, MD], who are working on these things have shown fantastic commitment and skill for the situation and love for the club.”
Corberan continues to deliver results on the pitch, despite issues off it and despite ongoing and persisting injuries within the team.
He continued:
“When you put these things on another person, you can be fully focused on your job. From the moment I arrived at the club, I have been able to be fully focused on the football. I didn’t have any type of problems. There are no excuses not to be fully focused. We have all the things we need. The financial situation at the club is a challenge. It’s something we’ve said since the summer and it doesn’t change – it’s exactly the same. It’s a challenging year for West Bromwich.”
The Baggies heading towards a crucial 2024
Whether or not matters on the pitch are going well, matters off the pitch will dictate the future of the club, and January is going to be a key month.
The Baggies desperately need this takeover to go through. Any kind of delays will threaten the future of the football club and regardless of how well Corberan is doing, no takeover will throw West Brom into jeopardy.
But there’s always the hope that a takeover goes through without a hitch.
The best case scenario is that West Brom have new owners in place next month and make a couple of late January transfer moves, bolstering the side and giving Corberan and his players the best chance at promotion this season.
Should that be achieved, West Brom could be in store for a very prosperous 2024/25 season with new owners potentially in place, and Premier League football potentially at The Hawthorns.
West Brom currently sit in 5th place of the Championship table and are back in action away at Middlesbrough this weekend.
Michael Carrick’s side are in 13th after a tough season so far; they won away at Swansea City last time out to end a run of three-straight defeats.