West Brom comment: Slaven Bilic frustration is as much about summer spending as Ahmed Hegazi’s exit

But this is a spat where it is all too easy to see both sides.

Hegazi was sold by the Baggies on Sunday just days after Bilic had categorically told a press conference he was going nowhere.

The Egyptian was Albion’s highest earner on £70,000 a week.

And the Express & Star understands his move to Al Ittihad is essentially worth £10million to the Baggies.

The club will save the £7.2million they would have paid the defender during the remaining two years of his contract.

And they will also receive a fee – roughly in the region of £3million – when Hegazi’s loan becomes permanent at the end of the campaign.

Of course, the 29-year-old’s departure weakens Albion’s squad.

Not only is Hegazi a good defender – he was one of the few players at the club with Premier League experience.

But his exit isn’t the root of what is frustrating Bilic – it is more the straw that broke the camel’s back with Albion’s overall transfer budget his real grievance.

With no additional investment coming forward from owner Guochuan Lai, the Baggies had an initial £20million to spend this summer.

They have committed to spending in the region of £45million this window.

But that initial £20million is pennies in football terms.

And you can’t blame Bilic for looking enviously at the likes of Leeds, Fulham, Villa and Sheffield United who have all spent big after winning promotion in the last two years.

The Croatian only wants what many would perceive as a fair crack of the whip.

He has, after all, done a wonderful job at The Hawthorns and arguably achieved the most important promotion in the club’s history.

Extra money simply is not there, though, and it’s hard to see how Albion could have done better with what they had.

Bilic made it clear he wanted Matheus Pereira, Grady Diangana, Callum Robinson and Filip Krovinovic to all return to the club following their successful loans. He also wanted Karlan Grant.

All those players have been delivered – as have David Button, Cedric Kipre, Branislav Ivanovic and Conor Gallagher.

Does Bilic and the majority of the club’s fans believe they needed more additions? The answer is yes.

At the start of the window, the boss wanted a holding midfielder – although he has since been impressed with Sam Field.

Full-back is also a real area of concern with Darnell Furlong the club’s only recognised right-back.

Both Bilic and technical director Luke Dowling would have liked to have strengthened in those areas.

But with money tight it wasn’t possible – other areas had to be prioritised.

For Bilic that is understandably tough to take.

The football world knows Albion are operating on a shoestring.

But the head coach is well aware that, ultimately, he is going to be judged on results and whether or not he keeps the Baggies in the Premier League.

It’s not fair. But it is football.

In terms of Hegazi’s departure, there seems to have been an issue with the way it was communicated to the head coach.

On day Bilic was adamant the defender was staying. The next day he was gone.

“I like straight relationships,” the head coach said when asked about the sale in one interview.

If Hegazi was sold without Bilic being clear about what was going to happen it is poor form.

It is also not right that the boss spent a week preparing for Brighton with Hegazi in the team. But you can see why Albion wanted to move him on.

This is a player who has started just 15 games for Bilic.

He is a centre-back who began the season on the bench when the Baggies were playing a back three.

And on £70,000 a week, he was comfortably the clubs highest earner.

At 29, there isn’t a lot of time left for Albion to cash in on Hegazi.

And the money that’s been saved is now back in the club and can be reinvested in January.

Without Hegazi going, you fear the winter transfer window would have been a very quiet one at The Hawthorns.

Albion needed to try and balance the books this summer – but Jonathan Leko was the only player to depart for a fee – with little interest in some fringe members of the squad.

It feels the issues that have arisen following Hegazi’s departure are ones that will be fairly common between a head coach, technical director and board.

It is the job of Dowling and the hierarchy to plan ahead have a long-term view for the club.

For a manager like Bilic, it is all about the here and now and trying to win the games that are in front of them.

Neither party is wrong. And both are just doing their best. But there is a natural conflict.

Hopefully, it will all resolve itself.

Bilic is a manager who commands respect and is rightly loved by Albion’s fanbase.

He has done a wonderful job at the club and the team’s chances of staying up are much stronger with him at the helm.

It seems highly unlikely he will walk away – not only is he committed to the challenge of keeping the club in the Premier League, but he is also loved by his players.

And Albion aren’t going to sack him because they know just what a good boss he is and what a fantastic job he has done.

There is a rift, but with logic on both sides, hopefully, it is a rift that at all parties can work with.