Shilen Patel reveals his West Brom Premier League 'feeling'
Shilen Patel has underlined his feeling that Albion belong in the Premier League after more than half-a-year as the club's custodian.
The Baggies' majority shareholder, who alongside his father Dr Kiran Patel completed Bilkul Football's £60million takeover from Guochuan Lai in February, stated that living the dream of being part of English football has 'changed his life'.
Bilkul's purchase of the club rescued Albion from peril given serious financial strains under Lai, who was either unable or unwilling, or both, to invest. Survival came via stacked interest loans, totalling £28m, from MSD Holdings in the United States, but this time last year Florida-based Patel had emerged as a leading candidate after negotiations had begun.
“It’s certainly changed my life,” Patel told The Telegraph.
“It’s been a dream and a desire for over two decades to be a part of English football. Not just in any way possible, it needed to be the right club at the right time.
“Now I’m here it would mean the world to take this club back to the Premier League. It’s the primary objective we have.
“I just feel like the Premier League is home for this club – but we have to earn it.”
West Bromwich and Tampa, where father-of-three Patel resides in Florida, are separated by some 4,300 miles but the owner and chairman has been no stranger – one label of his predecessor – to these shores and The Hawthorns since.
He is currently in the country, with cousin Ashish and close business confidante Andrew Nestor, who make up vital cogs of the Bilkul Football WBA team. Nestor has assumed the responsibilities of a sporting director, something Albion have not had since 2021, and the trio will be working closely with head coach Carlos Corberan, managing director Mark Miles and director of football operations Ian Pearce on a short and long-term strategy for the club.
Premier League dreams may feel that more realistic given the start to the Championship season Corberan has guided Albion on. The Baggies are fourth after five wins from their first eight games. Patel, who has been to England nine times since his takeover and whose family are loving the experience, is at the Millwall home game on Saturday.
“We know this club can sustain in the Premier League,” added the owner. “We see clubs that are our size or smaller that have found winning strategies to stay there and thrive.
“This was always a really special opportunity and to have this type of club available doesn’t happen all the time.”
As he stated upon taking over the club early in 2024, Patel and Bilkul's first objective was to address and get a handle on the grave financial state.
He immediately wiped out the £5m-plus Wisdom Smart loan, one left by Lai, and throughout the second half of last season was footing £2m per-month to keep the club running. A summer turnover, including several big earners out of contract, allowed an opportunity to balance the books with financial fair play's controversial profit and sustainability laws a very real threat. Some sales also helped Corberan be backed to spend £3m on chief target Mikey Johnston late in the window.
Elsewhere in the summer Patel plunged £1m into improving training ground pitches – something not included within profit and sustainability's limiting framework.
More recently the club had received clarity via a lengthy legal investigation into an historic £3.7m loan taken out by former owner Jeremy Peace, which will now be repaid by Bilkul as a result of the outcome. There is also the remainder of the MSD repayment to clear.
“We didn’t want good work on improving the squad and making us more competitive to be undone by penalties that are avoidable," vowed Patel on staying clear of potential sanctions.
“We are very focused on making sure we’re on the right side of the rules.
“It’s not been easy, but navigating P&S, certainly for this year, is one of the competitive skills that every club has to develop.”
He added on the loan repayments: “We don’t plan to keep them in place forever. We’re working strategically on the right way to deal with it.
“We also have clarity on the 2014 loan and, as with the MSD loan, we’ll be looking at the right time to address that.”
