Shinawatra takover of Man City edges closer
Thaksin Shinawatra's proposed takeover of Manchester City has moved a step closer despite number one target Claudio Ranieri snubbing the Blues hot-seat.
Shinawatra's advisors had made no secret of the fact that Ranieri was the man the former Thailand Prime Minister had identified as Stuart Pearce's successor as manager.
Ranieri met Shinawatra in London last Wednesday, giving a firm indication he wanted the job, which comes with an estimated £50m (€37m) transfer kitty if the sale goes through.
However, the lure of restoring fallen giants Juventus to the top of Serie A has proved too much for the 55-year-old, whose resignation from Parma on Thursday was seen as effective confirmation of his appointment at City.
Ranieri's about-turn leaves City searching for a new man, with former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier the current bookies' favourite.
And, with the Blues now confirming takeover talks had moved from 'preliminary' to 'advanced', Shinawatra is clearly not letting today's setback get in the way of his grand plans for the Eastlands outfit.
"The Board of Manchester City confirms that it is now in advanced discussions with interested parties that may or may not lead to an offer being made for the Company," said a statement released by the Blues this evening.
"A further announcement will be made in due course as appropriate."
The wording of the statement, cleared for release by the Takeover Panel despite being out of Stock Exchange hours, is interesting in that it suggests there are other parties interested in buying the club other than Shinawatra.
However, he remains the most obvious candidate to take control from current chairman John Wardle who, together with business partner David Makin, is keen to offload his 29% stake in the cash-strapped club.
Although an 'irrevocable offer' which would trigger a formal bid has yet to be received, club officials remain relaxed about the present situation even though City have no manager and, with the future ownership unresolved, do not have an actual transfer budget to work to.
Wardle is believed to have a cut-off date in mind when he will accept it would not be in the club's short-term interests to stall on signing new players any longer but it is not thought to be imminent.
However, they will soon have to deal with a decision on errant midfielder Joey Barton's future.
Despite claims a deal with Newcastle for the England midfielder would be done today, so far, the Magpies have fallen well short of the £5.5m (€4m) offer which would allow Barton to enter talks under the terms of his contract.
As Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce considers his options, City are bracing themselves for a bid from West Ham who, after landing Scott Parker, are ready to offer Barton the kind of cash which could make life in the capital extremely attractive.
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