Struggling premiership football club, Leeds United, today confirmed to the London Stock Exchange they are in discussions with a number of interested parties about a possible takeover.
The club is currently around £80million in debt and recently reached a `standstill' agreement with creditors to stave off the immediate threat of administration.
Sheikh Abdulrahman Al-Khalifa has been linked with making an offer for the club which released a statement this morning which read: "The Board of Leeds United PLC confirms that it is currently in discussions with a number of interested parties which are at a very early stage and may or may not lead to an offer being made for the company.
"The board, which is being advised by KBC Peel Hunt, will issue further statements when it is appropriate to do so."
The club have been set a deadline of January 19th by their main creditors, three companies who are owed £60million and the player-leasing agents who are owed a further £21million.
Leeds chief executive Mr Trevor Birch is confident he will save Leeds from administration, and believes not only will no players be sold in the January transfer window, but new faces will arrive.
As well as the reported interest of Bahrain's Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa, who is backed by Saudi businessmen, former deputy chairman Mr Allan Leighton is believed to be putting together a consortium and resigned from the board last week to avoid a potential conflict of interests.
PA