Charlie Methven delivers strong verdict on William Storey's past Sunderland takeover attempt

Charlie Methven has delivered a strong verdict on William Storey's previous attempts to buy Sunderland.

Storey, the former Formula One team sponsor who has seen bids to buy Sunderland and Coventry City fall flat previously, has reportedly agreed terms to buy Reading from current owner Yongge Dai.

Ex-Sunderland co-owner Methven, who is now involved at League One outfit Charlton Athletic, has lifted the lid on Storey's attempt to purchase the Black Cats back in 2020.

During a lengthy interview on the subject, Methven stated that Storey's public claims that he would sign Premier League players following his takeover of Sunderland, who were then a League One club, caused the Madrox ownership group difficulties.

He said: "That direct approach to the fanbase caused us some issues because when somebody comes along and says it is feasible, possible and should be done to sign a bunch of Premier League players to a League One club, it makes life quite difficult for the current incumbent who knows that it is a total impossibility, but you’re lacking a counter-factual so you can’t prove that it is an impossibility."

He added: "In the meantime, we were already in discussions with a very credible owner, the former owners of Marseille, the Louis-Dreyfus family. While perhaps not having William Storey’s extravagant views on the valuation of the club, we were pretty sure they would have the money and were going to pass the EFL test. We progressed with that deal and eventually ended up having a bit of a giggle with the whole Storey episode.

"When you’re in the middle of it, it can be a very time-consuming exercise because you have journalists and fan groups calling you all the time asking about this very extrovert figure and why you’re not accepting his offer. That can be a tricky thing to deal with and take up a lot of time."

Meanwhile, Storey was recently asked about his interest in Reading.

"I can’t say on a specific bid," Storey told Alex Crook, Sam Matterface and Martin Keown on TalkSPORT regarding his proposed takeover of Reading: "What I can say is that I made a bid for Sunderland and Coventry. Both involved extensive EFL conversations. Clearly, a bid for Reading would include the same and we wouldn’t be making a bid were the EFL process not in hand. That is probably the closest I can say on my prospective bid, were it to be there."