Major January signings unlikely at West Brom as John Percy shares Guochuan Lai loan update
West Brom are unlikely to make major signings in the January transfer window, according to John Percy.
Writing for The Telegraph (16 December), Percy shares that Guochuan Lai is yet to pay the loan amount he took out from the club after already missing a September 2021 deadline.
He took £4.95 million out of the club to help his other company, Wisdom Smart Corporation Limited, during the Covid period and should repay the amount within the next two weeks.
Officials based in England have repeatedly stressed the importance of the loan being paid back, but there has been no response from Lai yet.
Ron Gourlay, the chief executive, is under pressure from the fans, but he has run the club efficiently. He is an easy target, as Lai is nowhere to be seen, having attended just one match in the last four years.
“It was in those final months of the 2020/21 season when Lai took £4.95 million out of the club to help his other company, Wisdom Smart Corporation Limited, through the Covid-19 pandemic,” wrote Percy.
“He is still to repay it, missing a September 2021 deadline, and fans are demanding answers.
“The rescheduled deadline is now the end of December and it is understood that Albion officials based in England have repeatedly stressed the importance of the loan being paid back.
“With just over two weeks left in the month, those pleas have still gone unanswered. At the moment, major signings in the January transfer window are unlikely.
“Lai’s borrowing takes the total amount of loans owed to £10 million – including a loan from the club to Peace’s company WBA Holdings Ltd which now stands at £5m after interest. A further £2m was taken out in September last year, with Lai borrowing money from an independent lender that is not owed to the club.”
Disaster
After a phase of a nightmarish spell under Steve Bruce, it feels like West Brom are finally heading in the right direction under Carlos Corberan.
With four wins in a row, the Spaniard has guided the Baggies out of the relegation zone, but he needs help in the transfer window.
Corberan has injected positivity in the club, and West Brom are only eight points adrift of the play-off positions.
However, the fans are getting increasingly frustrated as there are no signs of investment, while an amount of £10 million is owed in loans and the cash is running out.
If Lai misses the repayment deadline again, it will be a blow for Corberan, as the squad needs to be bolstered, especially in the full-back areas.
Surely, Lai needs to go. Albion needs proper planning for the future, and most importantly the club need a new leader. Corberan is doing wonders with the resources available, but he needs to be properly backed in the market.
In other West Brom news, Nigel Quashie piles praise on Daryl Dike for his performance against Sunderland