A day after one of the darkest moments in Sunderland's history, a non-league chairman has revealed he's been approached by a consortium with a view to becoming an investor in a potential take over.
Businessman Stuart Donald is currently in charge of Eastleigh in the National League and although he says he 'won't rule it out', he did admit it is unlikely anything would happen.
"If I'm honest I am not that heavily involved," he told BBC Radio Solent. "What has basically happened, it is common knowledge the club is for sale and there are a few consortiums and whenever there are consortiums there is generally a shortage of money somewhere along the line and I always get asked if I'd be an investor."
Donald has been working on getting Eastleigh into the Football League and it believed he has already spent upwards of £10m in getting them to where they are currently. Whilst he confessed he is unlikely to become involved, he did highlight the fact there is a lot of interest in taking over from Ellis Short.
"That is the situation at Sunderland, there is a lead investor and they have asked me would I be involved and I have said 'look, I won't rule it out but it needs to make sense'. Quite where exactly it is, I don't know, I think there is quite a few people interested in Sunderland at this time."
He finished by reiterating his commitment to the Spitfires, currently 16th in the National League.
"It is extremely unlikely anything will happen but if remotely something did happen it would mean I would have to let Eastleigh go but it would have to be an absolutely sensational deal for that to be the case. I have put an awful lot of hard work and money into Eastleigh and I have ambitions of getting them in the Championship."
The Verdict
Donald has invested a lot of money in Eastleigh and is building a great little club on the south coast. However, Sunderland are a potential behemoth, a club that should be in the top flight not swimming in a pond with Accrington and Rochdale. Maybe Donald has the loyalty and integrity to stay put, but if an investor does come in and get things right, they could find themselves involved in a very lucrative and successful football club.
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