Ipswich Town owner Marcus Evans is not actively looking to sell the club, but that he remains willing to speak to interested parties if they can prove themselves credible buyers for the Tractor Boys, according to a statement from the club as per The East Anglian Daily Times.

Reports emerged from The Athletic on Friday claiming that an American consortium is close to completing a takeover of the club, in a £17.5million deal.

It is thought that should that go through, then Paul Lambert would be replaced as manager by Paul Cook, who has been out of work since leaving Wigan at the end of last season.

Now, the club themselves have spoken out on those rumours, and it seems as though they are unwilling to give much away.

In a statement issued to The EADT in response to those reports, the club said: "Marcus Evans reiterates that he is not actively looking to sell the club and remains fully focused on taking Ipswich Town back to the Championship.

"However, as he has also stated in the past, he would speak to interested parties if they can prove themselves to be credible buyers that would provide sustainable, long-term investment."

As things stand, Ipswich are currently tenth in the League One table, five points adrift of the play-offs, ahead of their clash at home to sixth placed Doncaster at Portman Road on Saturday afternoon.

The Verdict

This is certainly an interesting one to be keeping an eye on.

This statement from the club does not confirm nor deny the reports of an interested party of the potential takeover, merely setting out some of the basic requirements for any potential buyer.

As a result, it does still seem possible that the deal could get done, and it may be that the club are not currently in a position to reveal anything more about the situation.

Indeed, with Ipswich having somewhat stagnated in League One over the past couple of years, you imagine there will be plenty of the club's fans, who will be hoping that that does prove to be the case.