Ever since GFH completed their takeover of the club we’ve had regular stories that someone else is going to join to bolster the funds available to club, but this time it looks like it might be going to happen.

A statement on the official website has announced that a group on investors have been granted a period of exclusivity to complete their negotiations before the transfer window opens in the new year. To meet that it will all have to be concluded far more quickly than GFH’s own protracted takeover from Ken Bates, but n presumably there won’t be such a complex web of companies for an investor to wade through this time.

The statement says “The two parties have signed a share acquisition agreement for the purchase of shares in the club with GFH retaining a significant stake. The consortium includes a number of high profile businessmen, and does not include any previous owners or players of the club. It is anticipated that the investment will see existing Chairman Salah Nooruddin and Managing Director David Haigh remain at the club for the long term.”

“Since formally completing its purchase of Leeds United in December 2012 GFH Capital has always stated it was its plan to ensure the long term and sustainable regeneration of the club through partnering with strategic and like-minded investors who share its vision. The announcement is the culmination of many months of negotiations by a team led by David Haigh. “

We can be thankful that the consortium doesn’t include any former owners, and no doubt that bit was included in the statement to assure that a certain gentleman now resident in Monaco has nothing to do with it. They are believed to be a local group, and could well include Adam Pearson in their ranks, seeing as his name has cropped with great regularity as a possible investor.

None of this has stopped the ever-reliable Sunday People reporting that Red Bull are ‘poised’ to take over the club, but thankfully that story is what it known in journalism as ‘complete and utter balls’. When the F1 mob took over the Salzburg club in Austria they upset the fans so much that they broke away to form their own club, but there is no danger of them getting their hands on Leeds United.

Red Bull have no connection to the consortium GFH are talking to, and they want to buy the club outright, whereas GFH have repeatedly said they are going to retain a stake in the club. But the People have also reported that the local investors are offering £7 million for a stake in the club, which might be true, though I’ve not seen an actual figure reported elsewhere.

I doubt that the amount involved is going to turn out to be huge by the standards of football these days, but it could give us the extra bit of quality Brian McDermott needs to get us into the play-offs. Here’s hoping.

Photo: Action Images

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