Sunderland AFC takeover approval 'imminent' as Kyril Louis-Dreyfus lines-up new appointment - reports

Current owner Stewart Donald has agreed a deal to sell a majority stake in the club to Louis-Dreyfus, with the deal currently going through EFL checks.

Donald, Charlie Methven and Juan Sartori will retain minority stakes as part of the deal, but Louis-Dreyfus – who was present at the 4-1 win over Doncaster on Saturday – will be appointed chairman and calling the shots on a daily basis.

The billionaire’s appearance at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, which followed him watching the defeat at Shrewsbury in midweek, has fuelled speculation that the deal could be close to being approved by the league.

And the Athletic claim that having initially expected confirmation from the EFL last Friday, Sunderland are now confident that approval is ‘imminent’ and hope that it will come this week.

The report also states that Louis-Dreyfus is already lining-up another new appointment at the Stadium of Light – his brother, Maurice.

Maurice is understood to already have a base in the UK and could be named as a director once his sibling takes control.

When quizzed on where the takeover stood last week, Sunderland head coach Lee Johnson said: “Obviously people will have seen Kyril at the latest game, that was quite well documented and I expect us to get used to having him around the place, seeing his face and introducing his style from the top.

“At the same time, I can’t give you any definitive timescale or chronological order of when that may happen or when it may not.”

“Everything I hear is that it’s really, really close – about as close as it can get,” he continued.

"But at the same time this is football, isn’t it? I wouldn’t go live with the story just yet because I wouldn’t want you to look silly.

When quizzed on how he has dealt with the takeover speculation, Johnson added: “I know I can ask the question and the question will be answered to the best of people’s knowledge.”

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