Jim Rodwell says potential Sunderland sale will not affect crucial summer planning

Stewart Donald said he would look to sell earlier this year, after fans protested against results on the pitch and concerns over the direction of the club off it.

Donald had twice previously been in advanced talks with potential buyers.

A deal to sell the club to Mark Campbell fell through in the summer of 2019, while the FPP group opted to invest in the form of a loan secured against the club’s assets, having initially intended to take a majority shareholding.

Rodwell was appointed as CEO in April, with a sale of the club seemingly no closer.

He has held meetings with Phil Parkinson and the club’s recruitment team this week as they begin to look ahead to what is likely to be a summer of significant turnover.

Rodwell says any uncertainty stems from not knowing when next season will begin, and whether crowds will be allowed back into grounds.

He said it was ‘absolutely’ the case that those in the football department would move forward with planning for the forseeable future.

“All the uncertainty as far as we’re concerned is due to the virus,” Rodwell said.

“Any takeover or lack of is not even part of the thought process.

“It’s not something we discuss.

“We march on doing what we’re employed to do an what the challenge is.

“It’s an irrelevance to me, to be perfectly honest.

“We have to build the best squad we can with the resources we have available.”

Co-owner Charlie Methven had said at the end of March that the club was expected to be under new ownership by the start of this month.

Madrox, the company through which he, Donald and Juan Sartori own Sunderland, subsequently admitted that this was unrealistic, saying: “Unfortunately it is unlikely with the development that football may resume without paying spectators. It is impossible at this stage to give a definitive timescale.”