Since Leicester City stunned football and the wider sporting world by taking the Premier League title in 2015-16, other clubs have been considering what it might take to get them to the fabled ‘next level’. Ok, so few, if any will ever emulate what the Foxes have just achieved but for sides such as West Brom, there is definite scope for improvement.
Lucrative deals
The Baggies have been involved with sportsbook and casino sponsorship for some time and at the start of the summer, the West Midlands club were looking for another operator to come on board. Step forward, UK-K8.com – an Asian focussed casino who were looking to increase their exposure in the UK with a deal of this kind.
Not only will the new arrangement assist UK-K8 in achieving their own aims, the contract allows West Brom to become a much bigger name in a huge target market. Asia is something of a Holy Grail for clubs looking to expand their brand but what can the deal realistically help the Baggies to achieve?
Tough to beat
You can throw a lot of footballing clichés in the direction of West Bromwich Albion. The side are always tough to beat and under a shrewd manager in Tony Pulis, they are set up well and hard to break down.
Despite all these positive attributes, they are very much a lower mid-table team and always seem unlikely to break through into the top half and beyond. UK-K8.com will now be emblazoned across players’ shirts for the whole of the next campaign but what else will the money bring in?
Cash boost
When the deal was announced on the club’s official website there was no specific mention of figures but the key to West Brom progressing is to harness that money and enter the transfer market. They could also be boosted by the likely sale of Saido Berahino – a player who was a reported target of Spurs and Chelsea a year ago but whose stock has dropped somewhat.
Despite a dip in form, the Baggies should still get around £20m for Berahino from a club such as Stoke and that would naturally swell the transfer coffers. From there, it’s down to Pulis and who he wants to bring in to the club: as we saw with Leicester City last season, it’s not all down to bringing in big name players, as long as you have a unit that gels and plays as a team really should.
Compared with other deals around the Premiership such as Chelsea’s link up with Nike, UK-K8.com’s involvement with West Brom may seem insignificant but to the club themselves, it’s a potential lifeline.
Since Leicester’s amazing success at the end of the 2015-16 campaign, everyone is looking for the team most likely to emulate them although in all honesty, it’s tough to see West Brom lifting the trophy next May. However, there is scope for someone to come through and manage a top six finish so perhaps this is the season for the Baggies to break away from the bottom and target something rather more exciting.
