EFL CEO Trevor Birch has revealed that there is still plenty of work to do before Maxi Lopez and Paul Richardson complete their takeover of Birmingham City.

It's no secret that the current ownership are looking to sell, with a previous deal to controversial former Watford owner Laurence Bassini falling through.

Since then, it was revealed that Blues fan Richardson and former Barcelona striker Lopez were in line to takeover but speaking to TalkSPORT, as quoted by Birmingham Live, Birch has delivered a more cautious update.

"No, we are at the very early stages of it. So there's not really much more to say about that. We haven't had the comprehensive information that is needed to even consider it."

That will not be the update that any connected to Blues wanted to hear, with John Eustace's side set to begin their Championship campaign this weekend when they take on Luton Town at Kenilworth Road.

The Blues boss hasn't managed to make the major changes to his squad that he would've wanted, with just over a month until the deadline.

The verdict

This looks as though it's going to drag on for a while yet, so it's a worry for Birmingham as they clearly need to get something sorted as soon as possible.

Of course, this is a major deal so it was never going to be a straightforward process and there is a lot more work that needs to get done.

Now, it's down to Richardson and Lopez to try and speed things up by delivering on what the EFL need to ensure this gets finalised.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.