West Brom: Ron Gourlay assures fans £4.95m Guochuan Lai loan will be repaid
- Published
Guochuan Lai replaced Jeremy Peace as West Bromwich Albion owner in 2016
West Brom chief executive Ron Gourlay has assured fans that a £4.95m loan from the club to chairman Guochuan Lai will be repaid in time to be used by the Baggies in the January window.
The loan, listed in Albion's accounts to June 2021, helped one of Lai's companies through the Covid pandemic.
It was originally due to be repaid in September, with £50,000 interest, but was then delayed until 31 December.
Gourlay also said that the club are investigating an earlier loan in 2014.
This one, reportedly to the tune of £3.7m,, external happened two years before Lai bought the then Premier League club from former owner Jeremy Peace in 2016.
The Baggies released the information by publishing minutes from the latest Albion Assembly meeting,, external involving both club employees and fans, held at the club's training ground on 1 December.
West Brom said Gourlay "had been assured by Guochuan Lai that the £4.95m loan owed to the football club by Wisdom Smart will be repaid by the revised deadline of December 31, 2022".
The club said Gourlay also gave an assurance that "no money will leave the club in the same way" while he is Albion CEO.
As regards the 2014 loan, Albion said Gourlay had confirmed that he has "authorised an independent investigation".
Albion consider possible loan to buy players
It has also been reported that Albion have taken out a loan,, external in the region of £25m, to help new head coach Carlos Corberan strengthen in the transfer window.
The meeting was told that it was under consideration.
"Should promotion not be achieved this season, Albion will be without Premier League parachute payments," the minutes said.
"Therefore, to maintain financial security and ensure funds are available for investment, the owner is considering a number of options - including the possibility of a loan - but it will only be used for the benefit of West Bromwich Albion."
Despite their poor start to the campaign, Albion are far from out of promotion contention under Corberan.
In his seven games to date, Albion have won five to truly turn the corner following the departure of Steve Bruce and enhance their hopes of a successful second half of the season.
Had they won at Coventry on Wednesday, they would have climbed to eighth in the incredibly congested Championship table. But, as it is, even in 16th, they are only five points shy of the play-off places at the halfway stage of the season, going into their trip to Bristol City.
Hefele comes in to join backroom staff
Corberan has also made a backroom appointment by bringing in former Huddersfield Town defender and coach Michael Hefele to succeed Jaime Monroy, who has left "for personal reasons".
Michael Hefele played at centre-half in the Huddersfield Town side that won promotion to the top flight in 2017
The appointment of the 32-year-old German, who won promotion to the Premier League as a player at Huddersfield and then both played and coached under Corberan, restores his immediate support team to five - first-team coach James Morrison, assistant coaches Jorge Alarcon and Hefele, statistical analyst Damia Abella and goalkeeping coach Gary Walsh.
"It is always about finding the right people," Corberan told BBC Radio WM.
"I wish Jaime well in the future. Michael is a highly capable replacement. I know him personally from my time at Huddersfield. He has all the attributes required."