UK Edition
Chinese company Lander Holdings risk missing chance to buy controlling stake in Southampton
The Chinese company negotiating a £200 million stake in Southampton are still yet to have the funds for their investment transferred out of China and risk losing the chance to buy a controlling stake in the Premier League club.
Lander Holdings have been unable to secure the release of funds from China and the club are growing ever concerned that the deal, to buy an 80 per cent controlling stake, cannot be left in limbo indefinitely. There are no concerns about Lander’s capacity to pay for the stake in the club, owned by Katharina Liebherr, who wants to push through with the sale.
The key obstacle is Lander obtaining permission from authorities in China to transfer the necessary funds overseas in order to make the purchase. The longer the wait goes on, the more the doubt grows that the deal is feasible, despite Lander’s chief executive Gao Jisheng having been approved by Premier League due diligence procedures.
The club are still hopeful that Lander can complete the transaction but in the meantime their approach to the transfer window is unchanged. They still hope to reintegrate Virgil Van Dijk into the first team squad who reconvene on Monday when the Dutchman’s fitness levels will be assessed. If he is physically ready to play, and in the right frame of mind, then he could well play a part in the games against Augsburg on Wednesday and Sevilla a week on Saturday.
There is hope that the Dutchman has now come to terms with the reality that there will be no deal with Liverpool this summer and that this week he can re-join first team training. The two friendlies will be new manager Mauricio Pellegrino first games at St Mary’s in front of the Southampton fans. He has been open about the club’s approach to the Van Dijk situation and has insisted on the defender training separately from the first team squad until he feels ready to play.