Many eyes have been on Nathan Shi since he took over from Jeff Shi last Christmas – and new claims today about the role he played in Raul Jimenez’s return to Wolves are highly encouraging.
The mood could hardly have been worse last Christmas as Jeff Shi conducted that bizarre interview with BBC Radio WM.
Just days later he would depart though, and Nathan Shi was named as the replacement chairman on an interim basis.
Truth be told, while many were happy that Jeff Shi had gone, the move didn’t uplift that many supporters.
Many still saw Nathan Shi as an employee of Fosun, who were – and for many still are – public enemy number one at Molineux.
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There was also the fact that he does not have any previous experience working in football, making him a risky appointment.
But as the months have gone by, Nathan Shi has quietly impressed.
He has said all the right things, and crucially we are now starting to see actions – and a very interesting report has emerged about his efforts to bring Jimenez back.
What Nathan Shi did to help convince Raul Jimenez to return to Wolves
The E&S have today reported about how Jimenez’s return to Wolves came about – and Nathan Shi was front and centre of the operation.
The publication have said that Shi had an ‘intense conversation’ with Jimenez after Wolves’ final game with Fulham. And Shi also spoke to the striker’s family.
Clearly, that had an impact, because Jimenez then made those comments to the E&S opening the door to a potential return.
Shi then led the charge, and was said to be ‘instrumental’ in getting the deal done quickly.
A trio of Wolves representatives went to Mexico to thrash out the deal, complete his medical and announce him to the fans all by Tuesday of this week.
This kind of slick operation has not been seen at Wolves for quick some time, and it seems that Shi has quite a bit about him.
Shi looking good so far for Wolves
Both Matt Jackson and Rob Edwards gave credit to Shi for his role in re-signing Jimenez. Edwards also thanked Shi for helping to sign Trippier.
What has been notable as well is that Shi has been very communicative so far, reacting to both these deals in detail, and also commenting on Andre’s new deal.
Shi has also ensure significant season ticket reductions for fans, promising a ‘football-first direction’ at the club.
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He has spent time listening to supporters about the key issues, and has engaged frequently. His performance at the Fan Forum event recently was good, and word from behind the scenes is also that he is very impressive.
Unquestionably, he is a better ‘face’ of Wolves than his predecessor and what he’s achieved up to now is promising.
But the work doesn’t stop, and hopefully he will continue in this vein while he is a the top.
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