‘That figure is zero’ – Reliable journalist details Lai stance on West Brom investment
Guochuan Lai is not willing to invest anything in West Brom, according to The Athletic journalist Steve Madeley.
In a discussion with actor and Baggies fan Matthew Marsden on Twitter, Madeley argued that the overall worth of Lai is irrelevant and all that is relevant is how much money the Chinese businessman is willing to plough into the Black Country club.
However, The Athletic reporter didn’t exactly say anything to raise expectations among Albion fans by saying: “The relevant figure is how much he’s willing to put into the club. And that figure is zero.”
West Brom fans have been left unhappy with the reported transfer budget that Slaven Bilic has to strengthen his squad with this summer.
Kevin Phillips has exclusively told West Brom News that he is surprised by reports claiming that Albion have just £25million to spend this summer while Bilic has admitted himself that he expected more [Index HR].
Since buying West Brom for £200million from Jemery Peace in 2016, Lai has not invested any cash into West Brom [Express & Star] except for the ridiculous £6million signing of Chinese striker Yuning Zhang, who never played a single game for the club.
The Chinese government have made it tough for Lai, to be fair, with the Express & Star reporting last summer that there are “government restrictions specifically on sports related investments”, which has also blocked Lai from paying back a £4.1million debt to the club.
Based on Madeley’s tweet, Lai can pump cash into the football club but at the moment is unprepared too.
Luckily, the club was well-ran while in the Championship with Luke Dowling and Mark Jenkins doing well to make the most of the loan market, bring in good quality players on cheap permanent deals and hire Slaven Bilic.
But, to stay in the Premier League, West Brom might need more than the income they generate to be able to stay afloat in such tough financial times.
In other West Brom news, Baggies fans have been trolling Brighton’s Twitter account for one of their tweets.
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