Long game for West Brom's new owners
West Brom's new owner has promised to play the long game at the Hawthorns as the Baggies completed China's West Midlands hat-trick.
Guochuan Lai is thought to have splashed out more than £150million in order to join Villa's Tony Xia and Wolves supremo Jeff Shi as top dog of one of the region's big three clubs.
But the 42-year-old eco-town entrepreneur, who has bought Jeremy Peace's 88 per cent majority stake, has played down any notion the Baggies will now suddenly go crazy in the transfer market.
He's also not planning to make any immediate changes to the board or management staff.
The only upheaval has seen former Blackburn Rovers chief executive John Williams replace Peace as chairman.
Lai said: "I would like to impress upon all of our passionate fans that I have no wish to change the club's ethos or embark on an unsustainable spending spree.
"I want to be a good owner and to invest in this club for the long-term. First and foremost, our goal is to ensure that we remain in the English Premier League.
"Beyond that, I would like to see the club establish itself in the top half of the division. I want to take this club as far as possible.
"My intention is to maintain the current ethos in terms of day-to-day management and approach to the team and to supplement this with the great opportunities that China provides.
"My plan is to add to, rather than radically change, the workings of the club."
Lai formed a new company called Yunyi Guokai Sports Development Limited in order to buy the Baggies, but he made his money in eco-town development with a company called Palm.
Palm, who are a partner in the takeover, have a market value of £1.8billion and made £500m in revenue last year.
Despite that financial backing, Lai preached pragmatism in the statements he released yesterday.
And he's promised to take a back seat when it comes to the majority of football matters.
He said: "As of now, all of us are focused on the transfer window and the upcoming season.
"I will leave the transfer dealings in the capable hands of our new chairman John (Williams), our head coach Tony Pulis and technical director Nick Hammond.
"They will be in charge of the overall planning and decisions. They have my full support whenever needed.
"I am also delighted that John Williams has agreed to be our new chairman.
"His knowledge of the game will be extremely important as we continue to move forward."
Lai, who doesn't speak English, will be staying in China for the majority of the season.
But he plans to attend Albion's first home game against Everton on August 20.
He said: "I would like to re-iterate just how proud I am to have the chance to become the new owner of this club.
"I believe that we have an extremely bright future ahead of us. I look forward to attending my first home game and to meeting the fans, the heart and soul of West Bromwich Albion."
