Albion chairman Jeremy Peace has maintained the Baggies will continue their cautious approach in the transfer market next season after gaining a fourth promotion to the Premier League.
Peace and the board of directors use a devised three-year plan to structure the club’s finances to ensure the Baggies never enter any financial difficulties should they get relegated from the top flight or fail to gain promotion.
The chairman has again outlined a conservative approach to player recruitment as he looks to balance the books without the investment from a major benefactor.
“We will be positive but we will remain relatively prudent," said the chairman.
"Our number one priority is always to keep the club solvent while trying to compete successfully at the highest possible level.
"Everyone has seen football clubs get into dire financial difficulties in recent years but this will not happen at Albion on my watch. We will continue to be sensible and realistic.
"A club of our size, without a benefactor, can only spend a certain amount and we have to be more inventive in the way we use our comparatively limited resources."
The last time Albion were promoted the club outlaid £24 million on transfer fees and broke the club’s record individual fee when buying Borja Valero for £4.7 million from Mallorca. Despite hinting at lifting the wage limit which was preferred last time the Baggies were promoted under Tony Mowbray, Peace insists any such strategy will see a reduction in multi-million pound transfers.
“The last time we were promoted we spent a club record £24million on transfer fees - and ended up being relegated," he continued.
"We have since made concerted efforts to gain promotion again and we will end up this season with an overdraft in excess of £10m - a hangover from the excesses in the transfer market when we were last in the Premier League.
"This summer we will build and strengthen our squad and endeavour to keep our core players while improving and upgrading around them, but it is clearly not all about transfer fees.
"To be competitive in the Premier League, we need to pay market-rate wages to the right standard of players on suitable contracts and this will form a major part of our planning."