Expert predicts all English clubs could follow West Brom's US path

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Back in February, Albion became the latest English side to be taken over by US owners as Shilen Patel and Bilkul Football purchased a majority share in the club for a figure in the region of £60m.

The move was welcomed by the Baggies fans following the turbulent reign of Gouchaun Lai - and the owners have delivered in recent months.

They have wiped out debt, invested in the training ground as well as investing in the first team squad.

And they are the latest success story in the English game, after the well publicised Hollywood ownership at Wrexham and Tom Brady at Birmingham City.

Prior to that, the big US names in English football have been at the likes of Man United and Liverpool, while clubs like Wycombe Wanderers have enjoyed US investment.

Football investment expert Adam Summerfield believes the trend will only ramp up in the coming years, and has predicted all clubs in the top tier and the EFL could be subject to US investment in the next five to ten years.

He told BBC Radio 5 Live: "Fourteen of the 20 Premier League teams are LLP [limited liability partnership] minority-owned [by Americans] and at least a third of the EFL are.

"I can't see how all of them won't have American investment in the next five to 10 years.

"I know what we have in terms of our trend line and our competitors and I'm not aware of a team that hasn't had a conversation with an American investor in the past few months. Every team is talking to them."

Sommerfield also believes there are two reasons why US owners are keen to invest not just in the Premier League - but in League One on Two clubs.

One of those reasons is the price, and the other is the unique element of promotion and relegation, something that does not exist in US sport.

He added: "It gives them the opportunity to prove an investment thesis relatively cost-effectively.

"These are guys who are super smart, well-financed investors with a lot of ego and bravado and they want to prove that they are up to the challenge of picking up a team in League Two or League One and 'doing a Wrexham', getting it through to the Championship and, perhaps ultimately, the Premier League.

"You'd be stunned how many investors we had during Covid who had seen Welcome to Wrexham and Ted Lasso, and said 'I want to buy a team'.

"The romanticism is a huge part of it. It's something they [US sports] don't have with the FA Cup and promotion and relegation. It's quite sexy and it's very easy to promote."