Carlos Corberan already working on West Brom contracts.
Albion are already plotting contract decisions for next summer – as Carlos Corberan praised Bilkul Football’s forward-thinking approach.
Summer 2025 sees a second wave of long-serving Albion contracts expire after a large collection of last season’s squad saw their terms run out in the summer.
Corberan explained how a change in strategy under Shilen Patel’s ownership has seen plans for the medium-to-long-term put in place, rather than the club act on a year-to-year, or even half-season to half-season basis, as it was under Guochuan Lai.
“As a coach I always give my opinion to the people in the club, to Andrew (Nestor, who has assumed the responsibilities of sporting director) and to Ian (Pearce, head of football operations) too,” said Corberan.
“We always have meetings to update how we are seeing the squad, the players growing, it’s good to have these conversations. They know my opinion and we put our opinions in common.”One of the considerations the club is doing is this, to start to work on not only the short-term, but the medium to long-term. This is a big change to the past – something the club is doing.”
Among Albion regulars whose deals expire next summer are Darnell Furlong, Jayson Molumby, Grady Diangana, Semi Ajayi, John Swift and Kyle Bartley – though the experienced latter can trigger another year if he features in sufficient games and has so far been an ever-present. A majority of those have spent a number of years at The Hawthorns.
Among those, like last summer, are big earners and Albion will still try to balance the books in order to recover financially and remain in line with financial fair play regulations.Corberan, Pearce and Nestor, who is Bilkul’s man on the ground in the Black Country, are in regular contact when it comes to the club’s football business.
Albion’s takeover was not complete until late February, though the raft of expiring contracts across the next 18 months was something the ownership were well aware of upon purchase. It left little time to address expirations as the Baggies pushed for the play-offs last term.
“We share lots of opinions,” Corberan added. “With Shilen and Andrew we enjoy a lot working with them because they create a positive collective mentality.
“Shilen, from the first day, wanted to manage the club in the same way he manages another business. He believes in the people he put in the club and the people he put in need to talk, to arrive to conclusions, that’s the way. In the end there are people who make the last decision.
