Former Watford owner Laurence Bassini has a £36.5m agreement in place to purchase Vong Pech's 21.64% stake in Birmingham City and the Championship side's stadium, according to the Daily Mirror.

However, the businessman is in a race against time to seal this deal with the current agreement set to expire at the end of the week, giving the 52-year-old a very limited amount of time to get it signed off.

For this deal to be finalised, Bassini needs to present the required money to buy Pech's stake and wait for EFL approval, with his two-year plan to take full control of Lee Bowyer's side unable to materialise unless it's rubber-stamped by the governing body.

He believes he has until the 30th June to get everything in place, potentially handing him an extended amount of time to get his hands on the second-tier side.

But he isn't the only man in the race to buy the West Midlands side, with Paul Richardson reiterating his and Maxi Lopez's desire to take the club from Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited's (BSHL) hands even though Bassini looks to be ahead in the race at this stage.

As per James Nursey, Lopez's group were proposing to manage Blues for two years before potentially taking control of the current second-tier outfit and that potential deal may still be an option they could pursue if Bassini fails to cough up the money needed.

However, another previous party including former Rangers director Donald Muir look to have pulled out of the race and this could potentially put Richardson and Lopez in a good position if the former Watford chairman misses his deadline.

Still, the fact multiple parties are confirmed to be interested in a takeover will please some of those who are desperate for a change in ownership following years of disappointment at St Andrew's under BSHL.

But at this stage, there's a chance they could still retain control with nothing set in stone.