COMMENT: West Brom Chinese ownership whispers gathering pace

Chinese whispers are growing louder in the Black Country.

Rumours that chairman Jeremy Peace will be selling the Baggies soon continue to gather pace...writes Albion reporter Matt Wilson.

Sources close to The Hawthorns hierarchy expect the landscape of West Midlands football to change dramatically this summer, and not just because Aston Villa start their first campaign in the Championship.

What we know for sure is that Peace continues to field interest from potential buyers, some of whom are from the Far East.

It's no secret that he would like to off-load the club, having put it up for sale last year. There could be a second Chinese takeover in the West Midlands on the horizon.

But the 59-year-old, who has been chairman since 2002, won't be rushed into a sale.

Peace values his 88 per cent stake in the club at £150-200m, and he's determined to get that much with the cash from the Premier League's bumper new TV deal arriving at the end of next season.

At the moment, he's sorting out the tyre-kickers from the serious punters, finding out if the bite matches up to the bark.

The chairman wants evidence of money before he enters into an agreement, and no wonder, because he's been burned before.

Last July he was close to agreeing a £150m deal with a Chinese consortium after announcing an exclusivity arrangement with an interested party.

But the deal fell through when the consortium was unable to meet the terms of the sale and Peace stayed on at The Hawthorns.

A year ago, the chairman was worried about the impact uncertainty at the top would have on transfers.

This should be a busy summer for Albion, and so the chairman is keeping quiet this time around, making it difficult to gauge how far along the road his negotiations are.

An FA bigwig has been mooted as a possible new chairman should Peace manage to sell.

Roger Burden is an Albion season ticket holder who has to stand down from the FA board next month because he turns 70.

Although Burden has discussed the possibility, it is understood that at this moment in time there is little chance of him taking the reins.

Of course, things can change, and if he's interested, he may be called upon by a new owner.

If Peace does manage to sell the club this summer, he should be remembered fondly by Albion fans.

Under his stewardship the Baggies won promotion into the Premier League three times and then cemented its place in the top tier.

There have been some astute appointments in the dugout, and others not so shrewd, but no chairman gets it right every time.

This August, the Baggies will be entering their seventh successive season in the Premier League, and for the first time in Albion's 138-year history, they will be the only representatives from the West Midlands in the top tier.

All while the club remains one of the most financially stable in the country and continues to make a profit each year.

One criticism fans level at Peace is that he's lacked ambition over the past few seasons, but Albion spent nearly £32.5m last summer and were fifth-highest net spenders in the league.

A new owner would bring hope of a bumper cash injection, but also fears of shoddy management.

For every Leicester success story, there is a Blackburn nightmare. Any new owner will be greeted with cautious optimism.