‘Dangerous’ – Exclusive: Pundit delivers verdict on West Brom-Lai ownership
We’re delighted to welcome former West Brom striker Kevin Phillips as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns…
Kevin Phillips has defended the West Brom ownership for their lack of investment in the club since winning promotion to the Premier League.
It has been widely reported that Slaven Bilic was handed a small transfer budget of roughly £25million, most of which has already been spent on re-signing players who were on loan at The Hawthorns last season.
West Brom are yet to add a new centre-forward since their promotion and are running out of time to do so with the domestic transfer window slamming shut at 5pm on Friday.
The lack of spending has led to fans directing a lot of anger at owner Guochuan Lai for failing to invest in Luke Dowling and Bilic’s improvement of the squad.
However, ex-Baggies striker Phillips can see both points of view, defending Lai for not investing due to the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic but also understanding the fans’ complaints and Bilic’s need for a new striker.
“You can have arguments about other clubs who have spent big money that you wouldn’t expect to but it’s a dangerous one,” Phillips told West Brom News.
“If we weren’t in the situation we’re in, in terms of the coronavirus, I still think the clubs are very cautious about going out and spending stupid money. But now with the COVID-19, it makes them even more cautious.
“I understand the frustration from the supporters but these are business people. They’ve got to be very, very careful.
“But if you’re serious about staying in the league you’ve got to spend a bit of money and a striker is a priority. If that means they’ve got to go out and spend a bit more than they’ve anticipated then they’re going to have to do it.”
Lai has not invested a single penny into West Brom since buying the club from Jeremy Peace for £200million in 2016.
He did fund the controversial move for Chinese striker Yuning Zhang, who failed to make an appearance for the Baggies due to work permit issues before being sold.
But that is as far as Lai has gone in terms of helping improve the club from his own pocket.
In other West Brom news, Albion are in advanced talks to sell this player.
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