How long Reading FC have got to sort their takeover until the EFL could suspend them | OneFootball

Football League World looks at just how much time remains for Reading to complete a takeover, with Dai Yongge demanded to sell the club by the EFL

Reading FC supporters have been fearful of the club's long-term future for quite some time now, and the unhappy marriage with controversial owner Dai Yongge now appears to be approaching some form of crescendo.

On the pitch at least, the current campaign has been a resounding success at the Select Car Leasing Stadium. The Royals, in spite of Ruben Selles' mid-season exit to Championship side Hull City, have continued to push for promotion from League One with a remarkably young squad, which has seldom been strengthened owing to the transfer restrictions imposed on the club amid Yongge's ownership.

Indeed, Noel Hunt's side are just one point and one place shy of the top-six at this moment in time, having returned to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over rivals Wycombe Wanderers - who are up in third - on Saturday afternoon.

However, yet more turmoil has ensued away from the field. Yongge's well-documented ownership of the Royals has been ruinous in recent years but the Chinese businessman is still yet to sanction a sale, which could spell doom in Berkshire later this month.

How long Reading FC have to seal takeover amid EFL sanctions

Yongge is under increasing pressure to sell Reading, with supporters having staged a number of protests to encourage the unpopular owner to move on from the club in the last few years.

Last month, the EFL announced that Yongge had been officially disqualified under the organisation's Owners' and Directors' Test, which was found to be for "unsatisfied judgements in China".

He had initially been given a deadline to either sell up or move on from Reading by 5 April, but that deadline has now been extended to 22 April.

However, should Yongge fail to complete a sale or move away from the club, the EFL have the authority to suspend the Royals from playing their remaining League One matches.

Hunt's side are next in action tomorrow evening with a trip to relegation-bound Shrewsbury Town, before heading back out on the road for Saturday afternoon's clash at Northampton.

They will, however, return to the SLC to face Lincoln City on Good Friday ahead of the Easter Monday trip to Mansfield Town. That match is Reading's last before the EFL's deadline.

Should Yongge fail to meet that deadline, Reading could well see their final two matches of the season against Bristol Rovers and Barnsley suspended.

It will be hoped, then, that Yongge can finally distance himself from the club by either sanctioning a sale or voluntarily moving on, and give Reading the fresh start they so desperately need at this stage.