We’re not a spent force at Hawthorns - Jenkins
CHIEF executive Mark Jenkins insists West Brom will have a “very competitive budget” this summer, despite the club’s dip in revenue.
Albion’s parachute payment from the Premier League has dropped from £42.6 million last year to £34.8 million.
And the club is still understood to be in arrears on player trading over the past two years, even when factoring in the £5.5 million sale of Craig Dawson to Premier League side Watford.
But Jenkins reckons the Baggies are in a far healthier position financially than when he returned to the club in February 2018 following a club-record £40 million spend the previous summer.
And Jenkins, who was “shocked” by the financial mis
management that had occurred under former chairman John Williams and chief executive Martin Goodman, believes Albion are relatively wellplaced in Championship terms.
“We’re one year further on, we’re still in the Championship and the parachute is slightly smaller, but I would say the finances have improved,” he said. “They are still challenging, though, because the parachute is dropping. The outgoings this year, compared to the incomings, are still greater because we’ve still got final instalments left on Jay Rodriguez and Kieran Gibbs.
“While people will say we’ve still got the Nacer Chadli money coming in, we have, but the difference still needs to be addressed. Saying that, we will still have a very competitive budget. It’s going to be a challenging, but exciting season.
“On Sam Johnstone and Kyle Bartley we’ve still got outstanding sums that have to be met this summer, that’s slightly countered by some money on Chadli, and we’re owed the final instalment on Saido Berahino. All these swings, but I can assure you there’s a net deficit that will be addressed and that it’s comfortably within our financial constraints.”
The Baggies have at recouped a substantial from Dawson’s transfer.
He ended a near nine-year association with the Baggies, that saw him make 225 appearances, when he completed his move to Watford.
The Hornets had attempted to sign Dawson in January. The two clubs could not reach agreement over the fee. But with Dawson entering the final year of his contract, and the 29-year-old still keen to move on, the Baggies were more willing to accept a lower offer. least sum