Matt Slater mocks Guochuan Lai loan at West Brom as official update emerges
West Brom announced on Tuesday afternoon that an official investigation will be taking place over a 2014 loan involving the club.
After years of minority shareholder group ‘Shareholders 4 Albion’ pushing for review, West Brom chief executive Ron Gourlay has given the green light for an official investigation into the history loan, which still hasn’t been repaid to this date.
The Athletic’s Matt Slater took to Twitter to mock the situation and how long it took the club to react.
“So does this mean we should pencil in 2028 for the independent investigation into Lai Guochuan’s loans?” read Slater’s post.
Slater’s mockery of the 2014 loan also refers to the £4.95million loan taken out by current majority shareholder Guochuan Lai in March 2021. Lai was supposed to repay the loan in full by September 2021, but he missed the repayment date, which is now set for 31 December 2022. [Express & Star]
Transparency needed
Slater is clearly not confident that Lai’s £5million loan at the club has been handled correctly ahead of the second repayment date, and jokingly refers to an identical investigation taking place six years from now.
As much as Slater is mocking the situation, it’s a harsh reflection of West Brom’s reality under Lai. His complete lack of transparency and communication with fans, shareholders and the media has left many in the dark about his running of the club.
Financial situations at Derby County and Bury over the last few years have highlighted just how dangerous loans can be in a football environment if not handled properly.
West Brom fans are understandably worried about his ownership and have led multiple peaceful protests against him this season. [Express & Star]
Unless Lai starts paying more attention to the fans and the wellbeing of the club then protests will likely ramp up as his loan repayments close in.
In other West Brom news, Jed Wallace and Conor Townsend are both named in the Championship team of the week