A deal between EFL teams and Premier League clubs is expected to be reached, which would aid financially troubled West Brom.
According to Martyn Ziegler in The Times (14 September), top flight teams will be asked to sign off on a proposal to raise financial compensation to the lower divisions next Thursday (21 September), with Championship clubs convening the following week.
According to sources close to the matter, an agreement on money is “in sight” following “ongoing since last year” negotiations.
The new agreement would see cash from the top flight distributed to clubs in the lower leagues based on league position, and would be worth close to £4 million to those at the top of the Championship, on top of the £5.19 million in “solidarity payments” that all are set to receive this season, with the exception of those receiving parachute payments, which are still far higher.
According to the Times, the first season of parachute payments is worth £44 million to second-tier teams, the second is worth £36 million, and the third is worth £16 million.
West Brom are currently flying alone for the first time in 20 years, having only received two of the three seasons of payment due to only being back in the Premier League for two seasons.
And, with the club having had to sell a number of players this summer, including Dara O’Shea to Burnley for £7 million, to deal with a precarious financial situation revealed by the release of the Albion’s most recent accounts [The Athletic, 31 March], the prospect of a seven-figure windfall could mean a lot at The Hawthorns.
Parachute payments are still a source of “disagreement” in the current agreement, so what happens to them remains to be seen.
Carlos Corberan will undoubtedly seek to make the additional pay irrelevant by earning promotion, but given the departures, this may be a step too far, thus greater compensation should West Brom’s stay in the second division extend into a fourth season would be beneficial.
However, given the club’s continued instability, fans will have to hope that the manager can finish high enough to make a difference and not simply be a drop in the ocean.
