Huw Jenkins’ Charlton takeover in doubt days after Laurence Bassini pulls out of deal | Football | Sport
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Charlton fans fear that Huw Jenkins is on the brink of pulling out of his takeover of the struggling Championship club. Former Swansea owner Jenkins had lined up a bid to buy Charlton, which was expected to be confirmed by the EFL this week.
But major doubts have emerged over the deal, after another possible buyer, Laurence Bassini, this week pulled out of a potential £1.2m takeover.
He told the club’s majority shareholder Tahnoon Nimer on Wednesday afternoon that he is not going to proceed with the deal due to numerous difficulties.
And the fact that there is still an EFL probe ongoing into current owners East Street Investment’s takeover of the club last year, plus the fact that some £500,000 would have to be found by the end of this week to pay wages, and other reported debts to cover, has stalled Jenkins’ deal.
Jenkins said: “It needs more consideration.
“Will Charlton be in the Championship or League One, will supporters be let back in?
“You can’t hide from those things.
“There is probably a £10million difference right there, depending on which division Charlton are in and whether fans are back in the ground or not.”
Part of the problem is that if Jenkins buys the club, he will still have to find another £50m to buy back The Valley and the training ground from previous owner Roland Duchatalet.
Lee Bowyer’s side are currently 22nd in the Championship, two points adrift of safety.
But England’s second division are hoping to resume action next month rather than having to resort to finishing the season in the boardroom.
The EFL released a fresh statement on Thursday ahead of a proposed return on the weekend of June 20.
It read: “Following the latest round of COVID-19 testing, the EFL can confirm that 1030 players and Club staff have been tested over the course of Monday 25, Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 May, with three individuals testing positive from two Clubs.
“Those players or Club staff who have tested positive will now self-isolate in line with the guidelines provided by the EFL and only those who have tested negative will be permitted to enter training ground facilities.
“The EFL will continue to make regular and relevant announcements as appropriate in respect of the testing programme to support competition integrity and transparency.
“No specific details as to Clubs or individuals will be provided by the League.”
Charlton boss Bowyer, meanwhile, says he has not altered his stance towards his players’ involvement should the season restart – insisting he will not demand any of them play the remainder of the campaign.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live Sport: “No, I never relaxed my stance on it. I met the players on Saturday before we’d done our first test and I asked them all individually – it’s your choice, do you want to come back and play the remainder of the season?
“Every single player I’ve asked, and I said there’s no pressure, it’s your choice and all but three have said yeah.
“So that’s a good number for me but there’s no pressure, I understand, everyone’s got different circumstances.
“Of course I’d rather everybody came back because the more players you’ve got, the bigger squad you’ve got and the more chance of winning games, but that isn’t the case and we’ll have to adapt.
“I’m sure there’s other players at other teams that have also no.”
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