TAKEOVER LATEST: Sunderland legend hints an ownership change could occur in the next few weeks

Former Sunderland and England left back Michael Gray has claimed on national radio today that ‘exciting’ news regarding a change of ownership at the Stadium of Light will envelop over the coming weeks.

Gray - who made 410 appearances for the club over a twelve-year period - was a guest on the Alan Brazil Sports Breakfast show this morning on TalkSPORT, and when asked about the situation with the sale of the club he seemed confident that a deal will go through in the near future.

He said:

There’s light at the end of the tunnel. There is going to be a bit of excitement at the club in the next two or three weeks. That’s all I can say about it right now, but I’m quite excited about it.

It’s a plan, it’s not going to happen over night. It’s something to look forward to.

Roker Report learned early in the week that a former teammate of Gray’s has been heavily involved as part of one of the consortiums interested in a purchase of the club, so putting two and two together it’s not difficult to assume where the information Gray relayed on radio this morning has came from. And I know - people will want to know who we’re alluding to - but unfortunately we just can’t.

As we reported earlier this morning there has been an agreement made between the club and SBC (the bank to whom we owe so much money) regarding the ownership of some land we possess - the former Charlie Hurley Centre in Whitburn - and after speaking to lawyers we’ve concluded that the deal has likely came about due to the fact an ownership change is in the offing.

Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

Quite how true Gray’s words are is not yet known, but for him to make such a huge statement on national radio is intriguing and it’ll be interesting to see what information, if any, is unveiled in the coming weeks.

The fact of the matter is that an ownership change needs to occur as soon as possible.

The season ends in just over a week and with a new EFL rule meaning that the transfer window will close before the start of the new season, plans must be in place soon to ensure that the squad overhaul we require happens in good time.

This hinges, obviously, on the direction and ownership of the club going forward, and pushing through a deal with plenty of time to spare must be the biggest priority that the club has now that our fate with regards to relegation has been sealed.