Kieran Maguire can’t believe West Brom latest as £5m deadline looms – ’embarrassing’
There will be no real consequences if Guochuan Lai fails to repay the £5million he owes West Brom by the 31 December deadline.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the controversial Chinese owner and his debt to the Baggies.
The club’s last set of accounts showed that Lai had lent himself £5m at a fixed interest rate of just £50,000.
Birmingham Live reported on Tuesday (6 December) that Albion are confident that Lai will return the money before it is due by the end of the year.
West Brom are also conducting an investigation into a similar sum taken out of the club in 2014 by Lai’s predecessor Jeremy Peace.
Maguire claims that, while Lai may well repay the loan on time, there will be little in the way of retribution if he fails to do so.
“West Brom might be confident that he will give the club back the £5m,” he told Football Insider’s Adam Williams.
“But if he chooses not to adhere to the deadline, the sanctions to him given that he is the club owner appear to be relatively minor.
“Therefore, this appears to me like it is more of a face-saving exercise from the club’s point of view. The consequences are probably limited.
“Failure to make the payment will heap further embarrassment on whoever at the club thought this was a good idea in the first place.”
In other news, Norwich City and West Brom plot moves for Aston Villa sensation Lamare Bogarde.