Guochuan Lai was heavily criticised during his time at West Brom.

Sam Stone

Fri 7 April 2023 8:10, UK

Football finance expert, Kieran Maguire has shared a “depressing” West Brom update in relation to the club’s ability to trade moving forward.

The Baggies’ accounts were published on Companies House on Tuesday (4 April) and are readily available to be scrutinised by fans, journalists and experts.

Maguire has since highlighted a particular section which makes for “depressing reading” when it come to Albion’s ability to remain active in the transfer market.

“The audit report for both West Brom and the parent company makes for depressing reading in terms of uncertainty about the club’s ability to trade as a going concern unless player sales generate enough to cover the losses,” wrote Maguire (personal Twitter account, 6 April).

Chaos

Bad times are unfortunately heading West Brom’s way and it’s been coming.

The uncertainty of Guochuan Lai’s financial position and ability to support the club means a cloud has been growing over The Hawthorns for a long time.

It’s clear finances are required from somewhere, whether that be new investment, promotion to the Premier League or player sales. Realistically, a new owner isn’t going to by the club in its current state, so that’s an option which can be chalked off.

Promotion could well be a massive boost to Albion’s accounts if Carlos Corberan can find a tune out of his side in between now and the end of the 2022/23 season.

The riches of the Premier League would go a long way in stabilising the behind-the-scenes situation, but, on current form, the winning the playoffs is probably more of a pipe dream at present.

There are one or two assets within the squad which could be sold. With Daryl Dike being the most obvious candidate to earn the club a quick buck. It’s sad that we’ve got to a point where these scenarios are being discussed and fans will be hoping for some clarity in the coming weeks and months.

In other West Brom news, a defender may never feature for the club again after what happened and may even leave for free.