By Kieran Maguire

11th Oct, 2023 | 7:00am

Kieran Maguire: West Brom will complete takeover before January on one condition

West Brom can complete a takeover before their January deadline provided the bidder has a valid background.

That is the opinion of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about the Baggies’ pursuit of a takeover deal.

Albion owner Guochuan Lai is looking to sell the club this season amid financial struggles behind the scenes.

As revealed by Football Insider, the West Brom takeover process is set to accelerate after Lai dropped his asking price to £35million.

Baggies chiefs have held talks with parties from the US and Middle East about a potential takeover, with the club eager to find a suitable bidder before January.

As reported by The Telegraph, West Brom are at risk of a January firesale if a takeover is not completed before the start of the transfer window.

Maguire believes a January takeover is “challenging but not impossible” provided that the bidder can easily pass the EFL’s background checks.

“It’s feasible to get a deal done by January but it will depend upon the background of the prospective owner,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.

“We’ve seen the deals at clubs such as Coventry go through actually very quickly.

“Birmingham City too – their deal went through very quickly and both of those clubs are geographically not far apart from West Bromwich Albion

“When the EFL has reservations about the source of funds of the owner and whether they have a genuine business plan that can be fully funded for the next two years – that’s when you tend to see things starting to drag.

“So if it’s a good owner with cash in the bank employing professionals, then January is a challenging date but not an impossible one.“

In other news, Kieran Maguire tells Guochuan Lai to ‘get out’ of West Brom after ‘£165m’ takeover news