Guochuan Lai sets West Brom takeover price as Finance Expert speaks out
We’re delighted to welcome football finance expert Dr Daniel Plumley as our exclusive West Brom columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns...
Dan Plumley has insisted that £60million would not be the worst figure in the world should Guochuan Lai completely sell West Brom.
The Daily Mail reported that Mohamed El Kashashy has made a minority investment offer to the club, but Lai wants to completely sell his stake.
Plumley admitted that Lai will never get close to the figure he paid for the club for as long as they remain outside of the Premier League.
“I think that encapsulates the nature of how that situation has played at West Brom,” he exclusively told West Brom News.
“We know that football club owners don’t always make money, we know that some have to cover off considerable losses to their own personal wealth, and this certainly falls into the latter.
“It’s not gone to plan for a variety of reasons, there is a load of bad blood and animosity behind the scenes as well, and it becomes a ‘get me out of here’ irrespective of the loss he will take.
“He was always holding out for a higher selling price, but he was never going to get in the region of £175million without West Brom being a Premier League club.
“If he is desperate to sell at this point, he has to sell for the value that it is in the Championship, and if it is £60million, that’s not the worst figure in the world.”
Lai looks as though he is finally looking for a way out, but it is not coming easy.
Time will tell if a full takeover will be completed at The Hawthorns, but the immediate priority is the transfer window and starting the Championship season well.
In other West Brom news, one attacker has been mooted to be on his way out of the club this summer