How much Dragan Solak bought Southampton FC for as new £200m sale claims are made | OneFootball

Football League World looks at how much Dragan Solak bought Southampton for amid talk of a potential sale

Southampton are entering an era of transition both on and off the pitch, with news emerging of a potential sale of the club by chairman and majority owner Dragan Solak following the Saints' relegation from the Premier League.

The south coast side suffered relegation back to the Championship at the very first attempt after winning the play-off final just last season, with both Russell Martin and Ivan Juric being relieved of their duties during the current campaign.

A return to the Championship awaits once again, but there could be wholesale change behind the scenes at St Mary's. There has been much talk throughout this week over Southampton potentially landing on the market for prospective buyers, with talkSPORT presenter Simon Jordan revealing that he had heard a rumour about the club being up for sale.

It has since been reported by GIVEMESPORT that Solak will consider offers in the region of £200 million in order to hand over his majority shareholding stake in Southampton. This news is a little over three years after Sport Republic, of which Solak is the lead investor, took over the club in January 2022.

But how much did Solak first purchase Southampton for? Football League World takes a look...

How much Dragan Solak, Sport Republic bought Southampton FC for

According to reports, Sport Republic bought their 80% share in Southampton for an £100 million figure from ex-owner Gao Jisheng more than three years ago.

Serbian businessman Solak is now demanding a significantly higher figure and is said to only be willing to potentially consider close to double what he purchased the club for in the first place.

From Solak's perspective, such a profit would undoubtedly represent successful and savvy business, though it remains to be seen whether his reported asking price will be met.

It will be interesting to see if any investors register a legitimate interest in taking over the club in the coming months, with the Southampton fanbase still very much split on the Sport Republic regime following two relegations from the Premier League.

Sport Republic's reign at Southampton FC

It would be fair to say that Sport Republic's time in control of Southampton has not gone entirely to plan, at least not just yet.

Spearheaded by co-owners Henrik Kraft and Rasmus Ankersen, there has been growing unrest among supporters in recent times.

Southampton have been relegated in each of their two full seasons in the Premier League after the takeover, spending significant fees on the likes of Flynn Downes, Cameron Archer, Ross Stewart, Kamaldeen Sulemana, Paul Onuachu, Gavin Bazunu and Sekou Mara without seeing a real tangible return on any of those investments.

The investment appears to be there but the footballing strategy most certainly requires work if Southampton are to not only return to the Premier League, but re-establish themselves in the top-flight - which is becoming increasingly difficult for newly-promoted clubs, it must be said.

But given how things have played out to date under Kraft and Ankersen, it's no real wonder that Solak is considering the prospect of sanctioning a sale at the right price.