Sheffield United takeover state of play: Key figure’s visit, Prince bonus factor and Thanksgiving pause

Sheffield United’s long-running takeover crisis will continue for another month after the present standoff was not resolved before the would-be American owners took a break for Thanksgiving this week. There was some hope that the sale would be finalised this week, with chairman Yusuf Giansiracusa, a trusted legal counsel to owner Prince Abdullah, making a rare appearance at Bramall Lane for Tuesday night’s 3-0 victory against Oxford United.

Prince Abdullah had also planned a travel to Sheffield for Friday’s game against Sunderland to say goodbye if progress was made this week. However, the Saudi royal will remain in place at least until December, with the clock swiftly ticking down to a vital January transfer window as United aim to return to the Premier League at the first attempt.

A price agreed upon in the summer, when United were still suffering from last season’s dismal Premier League campaign and faced real doubt about their future chances, remains unchanged more than a third of the way into the season, with the Blades solidly in the promotion picture. According to the terms of the planned arrangement, Prince Abdullah is also eligible for a bonus if the Blades are promoted this season, and experts believe this might increase if the wait continues.

Despite earlier reports that Prince Abdullah does not want to sell the Blades, he is still keen to do so – though there is a feeling within the club that the saga cannot go on for much longer and that, as United’s Championship position improves, his incentive to cash in and move on may be weakened. Relations between the two parties are said to be amicable; nonetheless, there is widespread irritation that a transaction that has been in the works for so long has yet to be completed. The persistent delays are also hurting the public relations image of potential new owners Steven Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy.

Their bid has been complicated by arbitration with the English Football League over personal guarantees they require from Ohio businessmen, the frontmen of the consortium seeking to gain control of Bramall Lane, in the event that the Blades do not win promotion this season and face a financial shortfall as a result. Rosen has taken over as the face of the consortium’s negotiations with Prince Abdullah, replacing former key players Tom Page and Dominic Hughes.

Both Rosen and Eltoukhy were among a strong delegation from America who travelled to Bramall Lane for the Steel City derby win over rivals Wednesday earlier this month, while Chris Wilder – the Blades manager who guided his side to the top of the Championship table with Tuesday night’s 3-0 win over Oxford United despite a minus-two point deduction in the summer for non-payment of transfer funds – used his press conference earlier this week to call for “clarity” over the

“I think we all deserve credit for not letting that get in the way of how we work,” Wilder said about the takeover. “Maybe through experience, we’ve done that and are focusing on what we can manage. Which are the player performances, summer recruitment, and results that we attempted to achieve. I believe we need clarity, and I’d like to believe that we’re getting there now, either way. Stephen Bettis [United’s CEO] has kept me updated as much as he can, and with whatever he knows, and I believe we’re on the same page about that.”

Read morere…https://sportupdates.co.uk/