Anthony Onifade

Fri 15 December 2023 18:10, UK

West Brom fans face an anxious wait until they’re finally able to show Guochuan Lai the exit door at The Hawthorns after a fresh takeover update emerged.

Telegraph journalist John Percy shared an update (12 December) on the EFL owners and directors’ test as a potential takeover at West Brom is now said to be “edging closer”.

It is believed the preferred party of the three interested consortiums – including one from the United States and another from Nigeria – would have to pass the director’s test before completing a reported £30million deal controlling stakeholder Lai.

Percy also added that the test has been “toughened up” in recent years with West Brom now facing a “race against time” to ensure Carlos Corberan’s squad isn’t picked apart in January.

Finance expert Kieran Maguire speaking on The Price of Football (14 December) believes that the signs are certainly strong for a potential deal to be completed following the recent second loan from MSD Holdings also suggesting things could very much be moving along nicely.

Maguire said (26m 30s): “John Percy reported this in the Telegraph, and also Ali Jones of Action for Albion, he and I are in regular contact. John Percy was reporting that progress has been made with regard to a sale of the club.

“We spoke a couple of weeks ago that West Brom have actually taken out another loan from MSD Holdings and my view at the time would be that MSD Holdings probably would only lend if they were confident that a deal was going to go through because otherwise how are they going to get their money back?

“So it will bring a bit of peace and tranquillity into the mind of many Baggies fans. We know that the club has been through a pretty rocky period since Jeremy Peace bought and then sold his investment, and moved to Jersey.”

Things seem to finally be moving in the right direction at The Hawthorns but there is still a long way to go before there is a change of ownership to get the Baggies in a more positive place financially after a difficult few years.

These are certainly nail-biting times for West Brom fans as a potential takeover appears to be closer than it has ever been since the club were put up for sale.

The Baggies are yet another victim in this country who have been treated poorly by an ownership that has put the club at significant risk by its actions.

West Brom are another club on a long list, for example, Manchester United and Everton are certainly two of the most significant at this moment but as seen through both of their current situations regarding a potential and much-needed takeover, these processes take considerable time.

Albion certainly face a whole heap of hurdles to jump through in order to get this new era over the line meaning fans certainly face a pretty anxious wait to show Lai the exit door. What’s guaranteed and a sure certainty though, the Chinese stakeholder needs to leave as soon as is possible.

Lai’s continued lack of communication and transparency in regard to their financial issues has been a huge concern and yet another example of his lack of leadership as a controlling shareholder of such a prestigious football club.

Certainly, a takeover of West Brom could well be miles away but this latest development this week is sure to give fans and those behind-the-scenes at the club plenty of encouragement heading into a busy few months.

In other West Brom news, the worst-case scenario has emerged to potentially end the season of a cursed luck Baggies man.