Leeds United go into the most critical three days of their history with Middlesbrough preparing an offer for Mark Viduka, renewed speculation about a Newcastle bid for Alan Smith and the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) bringing in a firm of insolvency specialists to help the club prepare for administration.
Leeds, who have until Monday to find fresh investment or face administration, have yet to receive a formal approach for Viduka, but the board is aware of Boro's interest. Leeds will seek £5 million for the striker, who is in Australia visiting his sick father.
Despite public assurances from Leeds's acting chairman Trevor Birch that he would not sell players, they may be forced to cash in on the 28-year-old Australian international striker.
Goalkeeper Paul Robinson is also available for a reduced price and is being hawked around Premiership clubs. Manchester City turned down the offer before signing David James this week.
Middlesbrough's difficulty, having had no encouragement from Emile Heskey at Liverpool, will surely come in trying to persuade Viduka to move the short distance north when bigger clubs are interested.
Newcastle are also after a striker. According to some at St James' Park they would struggle to raise the £5 million required for Viduka, but there are contradictory noises emanating from Newcastle about their buying power.
Bobby Robson, commenting yesterday on a £2 million bid for Smith, said: "All I can tell you is that I don't know anything about that."
A senior figure at Leeds also denied there had been a bid.
But Smith is coveted by Newcastle. He could partner Alan Shearer and might be his eventual successor. Jermain Defoe of West Ham is another player they admire.
Birch, meanwhile, has held talks with qualified insolvency practitioners from a highly regarded Manchester firm of solicitors, George Davies & Co, which advises the PFA on clubs on the brink of financial meltdown.
Since the collapse of ITV Digital the same lawyers have worked with the likes of Notts County, York City, Darlington and Port Vale, but the case of Leeds is unique because of the immensity of their debt - £82 million and rising - and the scale of the players' salaries. Whereas a lower-league club that had gone into administration could turn to the PFA for help in meeting their wage bills, the players' union does not have the financial means to bail out Leeds, where players such as Viduka are on £65,000-a-week contracts.
Time is running out for Birch and his beleaguered colleagues to bring in a buyer for the club before Monday's standstill agreement with their main creditors, a date that has been circled in red on every calendar at Elland Road as the cut-off point for keeping the administrators at bay.
The Leeds players have been briefed to expect the worst and they will probably be asked to defer their wages - effectively an interest-free loan with a risk attached.
The PFA's lawyers have dealt with similar cases, albeit on a smaller scale. In those cases it has been their task to offer advice to the players and conduct a financial review so that if the PFA does lend financial support it can be sure it will get its money back eventually.
If Leeds do fall into the hands of the administrators, the Premier League is expected to call an emergency general meeting to discuss the situation and the 19 other clubs could be asked to vote on United's future. It is unlikely any decision on the club's future would be made until the end of the season.
The Premier League chairmen are expected to agree a points deduction for any top-flight club going into administration, but the rule change will not take effect until next season. The chairmen meet on January 29th to vote on the issue.
