Latest news with #Bilkul
BBC News
5 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
'Fans should be encouraged by Baggies overhaul'
Slowly but surely, Albion are methodically revamping their squad, and it already looks vastly different to the one that owners Bilkul inherited when they took over the club 18 months ago. That team performed beyond expectations and reached the 2023-24 play-offs under Carlos Corberan. It was also an ageing side, as they ended the campaign with 11 players aged 30 or over and a bloated wage the dual necessity of reducing those wages and a desire to target young potential, the Baggies now have only a trio of players in their 30s – club captain Jed Wallace, midfielder Alex Mowatt and back-up striker Devante Cole, who incidentally are all out of contract at the end of this course, every squad needs experience, and the Baggies have added that this summer, with Nat Phillips and Krystian Bielik, who are 28 and 27 respectively, but just this week Albion have highlighted the benefit of finding untapped talent. With a sell-on clause included, they could make a minimum £9m profit on Torbjorn Heggem (pictured), following the Norwegian's move to Italian side Bologna, 13 months after he was plucked from the Swedish top flight for under £600, sale is a massive help to the club's continuing wrestling match with profit and sustainability rules and hopefully protects other assets, such as academy product Tom Fellows and midfielder Isaac Price - in this window at least - as the Northern Ireland international will at some point be the next example of a player who eventually moves on for a huge profit. The 21-year-old is that good and will only get when I asked head coach Ryan Mason about this process, he was keen to point out that it isn't the exact model, but rather "the context of our current situation" and to help them be "better placed" in the certainly have their eyes on that future. Sporting director Andrew Nestor, who leads on recruitment, is not only planning for the remainder of this transfer window but also the next one and even the one after that. While the work is far from done, fans should be encouraged by the squad turnover that's taking place. However the difficulty remains doing it while attempting to get out of one of the most competitive divisions in European football.
BBC News
08-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Baggies arrive at 'Land of the Castles'
I've landed in rainy Austria where Albion are spending a week preparing for the new Mason's squad arrived in the Burgenland region, close to the Hungarian border, at the weekend and I've even been beaten to the base by the Baggies' latest signing, Aune by the way, translates as 'Land of the Castles' - and Norwegian striker Heggebo appears to be as imposing as a medieval structure. How he stands up against Championship defenders remains to be acknowledging ongoing challenges with profit and sustainability rules, the club's owners Bilkul have shown their ambition by committing to spend a reported £4.75m to bring the 23-year-old in from SK the highest transfer fee since they took over in February 2024. Although it should be pointed out that because he's signed a five-year contract, the transfer fee can be spread over the course of that deal. That's smart business but it's still a significant Johnston is also expected to arrive later than the rest of the squad after a sensational move to Brazilian side Flamengo collapsed almost as sensationally in the space of 48 the winger will find when he arrives is a Uefa-approved training facility complete with a hotel and spa nestled among green fields in this small full disclosure, where I'm staying a short walk away isn't quite as luxurious but it does have a cafe attached to it with some lovely pastries, so I'm not are being allowed to watch a couple of training sessions while over here, so it will be interesting to see Ryan Mason's coaching methods up close as he embarks on his first senior head coach camp ends with a behind closed doors friendly against Dynamo Kiev on Friday, which we'll be reporting on and I'll also be recording several interviews with players throughout the Radio WM will have a special 'Albion In Austria' programme from 18:00 BST on Wednesday, which you can listen to on BBC Sounds.
BBC News
03-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
A brave appointment - patience might be required
Albion have taken their time with the appointment of Ryan Mason but for good reason. It's been 43 days since Tony Mowbray was sacked on Easter Monday after a 3-1 defeat by struggling Derby ended their play-off was appointed just over three weeks after Carlos Corberan left on Christmas Eve for Valencia and, in hindsight, it could be argued that it was rushed. In part due to games coming thick and fast as the Baggies looked to maintain their place in the top six, but also down to the collapse of the publicised plans to give the job to Swiss head coach Raphael of the unfortunate end to Mowbray's short second spell, there was pressure on club owners Bilkul to get this one right. They've bided their time to look for the right candidate, but also had to play a waiting game because Mason was never going to leave Tottenham while he was helping them win the Europa the ticker tape has settled on those celebrations, Mason has decided to leave the comfort of his boyhood club. Only time will tell if the gamble to give the 33-year-old his first senior head coach role will pay off, but just like the process of appointing him, patience may be required from the a brave appointment. The Baggies have gone from 61-year-old Mowbray - whose vast experience and success in the Championship was highlighted by Albion sporting director Andrew Nestor as a reason for his return in January – to a man almost half his predecessor's age and who has never managed at this level does have 13 games as a caretaker boss in the Premier League on his CV though and has worked his way up the coaching ranks at boyhood club Spurs. Since 2018, the former midfielder has also sat under the learning tree of some of the world's best managers, including Jose Mourinho and Antonio Albion fans were calling for a young head coach with fresh ideas, so he fits the bill on that front, but they will need to be patient with him. Mason is unlikely to hit the ground running like his former colleague Chris Davies, who left north London for Birmingham City last summer and dominated League One with a superior squad to the level they were doesn't have that right now at The Hawthorns, so perhaps there will be less pressure on him, and more on Nestor and his recruitment team to give him the tools to succeed. It's a work in progress but in hindsight the recruitment in the 2024-25 season had more misses than hits, so the decisions they make in this next window on which players to sign - and just as crucially which players to move on - will be just as important as the managerial decision they've just made.
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
A waiting game but a worthwhile one?
It's been a month since Albion sacked Tony Mowbray after a dismal defeat to Derby on Easter Monday put paid to their play-off hopes. The thinking behind the swift decision just hours after the game was to give the Baggies a head start in the recruitment process. The only problem is that since then, several clubs have also begun searching for new bosses, including Championship rivals Norwich, Hull and Watford; the latter of whom have already filled their vacancy.A small section of Baggies fans are getting impatient as time ticks by but the Baggies ownership group, Bilkul, know they must get this appointment right. Sporting director Andrew Nestor favours an analytical and statistical approach to finding the right person and that takes time to pour over and there's plenty of due diligence to be done on the character of candidates no surprise to me that the search is approaching the final days of May. Playing the waiting game has allowed the club to watch the managerial merry-go-round unfold and explore their options. If they'd have rushed the appointment, a more suitable candidate may have become available after the event. It could be argued that the appointment of Mowbray was rushed after the plan to appoint Swiss head coach Raphael Wicky collapsed but that's an old Baggies' aim is to mould a model where they can recruit players to fit a certain system, and the head coach does their work on the training ground, so arguments that the club need a manager quickly for recruitment reasons are largely unfounded in this day and age. However, the next head coach will want to get their feet under the table soon to begin planning for pre-season and figure out how they can craft a team that can compete for promotion again. The hierarchy have done a good job of keeping genuine rumours to a minimum this time, which has perhaps caused some of the impatience, but we could now be approaching the final days of the search and hopefully fans will have reason to be excited for the next campaign.
