Pundit Carlton Palmer says the news about a potential takeover of Reading is incredibly positive for the club.
It has been another turbulent season for Reading under the ownership of Dai Yongge, with the club having six points deducted in total for failing to pay players’ wages and HMRC on time.
The announcement last week that Wycombe Wanderers, a local rival, were closing on a deal to purchase the Bearwood training ground added to the growing concern among Royals supporters for the club’s future. However, this has since been postponed due to what the Chairboys refer to as “seeming planning limitations allowing only Reading FC to use the training grounds.”
On Friday night, the Reading Chronicle reported that the club was in “advanced exclusivity talks” with possible purchasers in North America, which was finally good news for supporters of Reading.
A deal might be reached this week, and there are two additional firms purportedly in the race, in addition to the club and the Select Car Leasing Stadium, which are said to be included in the package but not the Bearwood training field.
The Royals have had a fantastic few months on the pitch despite the off-field incidents, and they defeated Cambridge United 4-0 at home on Saturday.
With the win, Ruben Selles’ team moved up to 18th place in the League One standings, seven points clear of the relegation zone—though other teams in lower positions still have two games remaining.
Palmer: Takeover news is huge for Reading
Palmer expressed his expectations for a better future for Reading and added that the possible takeover would be great news for the team in an exclusive interview with Football League World.
“With news that the start of the art training ground of Bearwood was going to be sold to neighbours and local rivals Wycombe on Thursday, the news coming out of Reading is that they are in advanced exclusivity talks with prospective North American buyer,” Palmer stated.
“This is fantastic news for supporters, who were informed that the training ground would be auctioned off and they would have to rent it back. However, it has emerged that they are in exclusivity talks and
“This would be huge for the football team since they are winning games on the field; staying in the league and avoiding relegation is what matters most.
“They are producing results on the pitch despite all the chaos off it, and there are rumours that a deal for the League One team could be finalised this week.
“Given the negativity that was around the training ground being sold last week, this is positive news for Reading and their supporters, and fingers crossed that a deal can be concluded this week and they can put the events of the last few years behind them and move forward.”
Reading supporters will be cautiously optimistic over takeover news
Palmer notes that while a takeover this week would be fantastic news for Reading, Royals fans shouldn’t get too excited just yet.
The agreement hasn’t quite crossed the finish line, even though the stories about the North American consortium are hopeful. In November, Genevra Associates was reportedly on the verge of obtaining exclusivity.
The attempts to sell the Bearwood training ground have highlighted Reading’s dire financial situation, so there’s no doubt that the club needs a takeover badly, but there is renewed hope that a buyer will be found.
Despite all the uncertainty, Selles and the players deserve a great deal of respect for maintaining their performance, and as long as additional point deductions are possible,
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