Done deal:Leo Messi agree to sign from olympique Lyonnaise……
Reports today that John Textor, the American billionaire, is looking to sell his shareholding in Crystal Palace and invest in another English football club has set Sheffield United fans’ tongues wagging as their own takeover wrangle continues. Textor is also involved with French side Lyon and owns 45 per cent of Palace.
The Blades’ takeover has been close for several weeks but progress has frustratingly stalled, with those behind it understood to have initially been confident of taking control well in advance of the end of the current transfer window in early September.
Tom Page, of capital investment firm Vertex Albion, is one of those behind the deal, a Wolverhampton-born football fan who is based in the United States. The identity of the rest of the consortium has remained a closely-guarded secret but Dominic Hughes, who co-founded Vertex alongside Page, could possibly join his business partner in the United venture.
One man who will not play a part in the prospective new ownership, though, is Textor. We understand that he is not involved in the United takeover bid in any way, despite some Blades fans speculating that his Palace sale may pave the way for him to buy into United.
English regulations prevent anyone having a stake in two clubs at the same time, and Textor has been previously interested in buying Everton and has also been linked with a deal for Nottingham Forest.
