Sheffield United takeover talk resurfaces as US consortium step up interest

Sheffield United could be the latest club to be bought over by a group of US investors after reports on Wednesday suggested there was fresh interest in a takeover.

The proposed sale of the club has been ongoing for some years with owner Prince Abdullah, by his own admission, struggling to provide the type of investment needed to keep the Blades in the higher echelons of English football.

However, the process has been mired in controversy. Another US investor who declared interest, telecommunications businessman Henry Mauriss, was tracked by the FBI and eventually ended up in jail on fraud charges.

Another who had held discussions with representatives from United, Nigerian businessman Dozy Mmobuosi, turned out to have far less money than he was letting on after an investigation by US financial research firm Hindenburg Research.

Now, according to Alan Nixon’s Patreon page, another group from the States are showing interest in buying the club with suggestions in the report that a proposed deal could be relatively far down the line, though a fee is yet to be agreed.

The Telegraph further report that the Silicon Valley consortium are those who had held initial discussions with Blades representatives earlier this year but talks went no further at this stage. Now, it is reported that the group have stepped-up their plans and have appointed a UK-based technical director to act as a go-between, while an early recruitment process has already begun.

After having ther fingers burned on a couple of occasions, Prince Abdullah revealed last year that a company with the relevent expertise had been brought in to deal with the sale of the club.

US investment groups are growing in English football, with West Brom, Leeds United and Birmingham City among the EFL clubs who have more recently been bought over by Stateside firms. In the Premier League, Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea among others, are also owned by companies from across the Atlantic.

On the face of it, United could be seen as a more attractive proposition for investors in the past 12 months, despite dropping out of the Premier League and back into the Championship. Areas around the club’s Bramall Lane ground have been brought back into the ownership of the club. The hotel, also aligned to the stadium is in the process of being refurbished and more importantly, planning in in place for the building of a new training base in the plush Dore area of Sheffield which should help the club’s Academy achieve Category 1 status.