Sunderland's ownership group has been offered £42m to sell the Black Cats but that has caused a split between those at the helm, according to the Daily Mail.

The Wearsiders are once again in the Sky Bet League One play-offs as they bid to plot a course through to the final and then the Sky Bet Championship, with Sheffield Wednesday standing in their way first over two legs and then one of Wycombe or MK Dons at Wembley should they get that far.

Focus needs to be fully on the pitch, then, but instead we're seeing stories about off field matters, with a bid of £42m to buy the club reportedly being lodged, and with that getting a mixed reception by those in the ownership group.

According to the Mail, a consortium led by William Storey, who last tried and failed to buy the side in 2020, is proposing to buy out all four owners and take full control.

Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, Stewart Donald, Juan Sartori and Charlie Methven all have a stake in the club to varying sizes, with Louis-Dreyfus the one with the biggest with a 41% share.

Indeed, according to the report, he doesn't want to walk away from Sunderland, but others in the group are open to the offer, and so it remains to be seen how this is solved.

The Verdict

Sunderland hardly need an extra distraction at this point in the campaign but here we are.

Having four owners with different stakes and interests in the club is always going to provide this sort of dynamic when an offer comes in, and it appears some are open to selling and some are not.

Whether Storey is successful, then, remains to be seen and surely depends on what the current owners want to do and work out among themselves.