Sheffield United takeover state of play amid "interested parties" and latest Stephen Bettis update

Stephen Bettis, the Sheffield United chief executive, has admitted he cannot understand why the Blades have not been snapped up by a new buyer yet after revealing that there are parties currently interested in taking the club from current owner Prince Abdullah. The prince has enlisted consultancy firm Lazard in a bid to find a new buyer, having seen two previous deals collapse.

Despite United's Premier League status and standing in a city that is the home of football, owning their own ground and training facilities with plans in place for a new site in Dore, the only prospective owners to make any real progress to take over the club were American Henry Mauriss and Nigerian businessman Dozy Mmobuosi. Mauriss was later revealed to be serving time in a Californian jail for wire fraud while the SEC have charged Mmobuosi with alleged financial crimes.

Former United target could be available for bargain summer sum

Those developments led to understandable question marks over the due diligence performed by the prince and his inner circle in finding a buyer for the Blades, despite his previous pledge to do the best for the club and its future. And in an exclusive National World interview, chief executive Bettis admitted: "I personally don't understand why there hasn't been someone come and buy this football club.

"I think it's in a really good place, it's got a great fanbase. It's in a big city, it owns all its real estate etc. There's foundations to drive it forward and I could sit here and show you plans for the Kop, all the various things we could potentially do that are all sitting there and waiting for someone to pump money into it and drive forward. There's payback on them too. I don't for the life of me understand why a buyer hasn't been found, that actually steps up and does it."

Analysis: United accounts show importance of Premier League riches amid big loss

United's accounts for the 2022/23 season, released this week, show a directors' loan of £28m, ostensibly to Prince Abdullah who pumped in a large injection of cash last season to keep the club afloat amid their widely-publicised financial struggles. There have been question marks amongst fans about the price that the owner is seeking for the club, and whether it is putting off potential buyers as he seeks a return on his investment, but Bettis added: "Ultimately he's not valuing it based on how much he's put in, he's trying to value it on what he thinks is market price.

"It's not just him thinking of a number. It's talking to professionals and getting advice from them on what other clubs have been sold for and where they think the value is for this one. So he's trying to sell it for what it's worth, that's it. If he'd put £800m into this place it's not worth that as it currently is so he wouldn't say I'm not selling unless I get my £800m ... he's saying I'll sell for what it's worth. And I think that's what he wants. That's the reality of it."

Lazard, a leading financial advisory firm, have marketed United to their extensive database of clients who they feel may be in a position to buy a football club and then begin discussions on United's behalf with any interested parties. "That's where we are at the moment," Bettis added. "It's getting close to a point where the interested parties have to do something or not. There are interested parties but ultimately the devil's in the detail, in getting a deal done."