Significant Reading FC takeover development emerges | OneFootball

Reading are in "advanced exclusivity talks" with potential North American buyers, according to the Reading Chronicle.

The exact name of the consortium is yet to be revealed, but they have seemingly moved quickly to try and strike a deal.

The Royals have been in a similar situation before, with Genevra Associates believed to have been close to securing exclusivity back in November.

That deal ended up falling through though and plenty has happened since then, with a pitch invasion even taking place against Port Vale back in January to try and put pressure on owner Dai Yongge.

Just 48 hours ago, the Berkshire side's fanbase were in despair, with reports emerging that Wycombe Wanderers were closing in on a deal to purchase their training ground in Wokingham.

Those reports were confirmed in a club statement on Thursday - and this generated a huge amount of worry.

But it looks as though exclusivity could be on the horizon, which will give the Royals' fans hope that a torrid seven-year chapter could come to an end in the coming weeks or months.

As mentioned above, a North American group are currently leading the race and are in advanced exclusivity talks at this point, with the club and the Select Car Leasing Stadium included in this package, but not Bearwood training ground.

The Reading Chronicle has also revealed that the group are keen on the sports industry, something that will come as a relief to supporters who want the future owners to be as enthusiastic about football as they are.

They could have a deal agreed, in principle, within the next week. However, it remains to be seen whether they will get exclusivity in time for them to provide the funds needed to make up March's shortfall.

The North American group aren't the only potential investors in the race though, with two others thought to be in the mix.

However, it seems as though they will need to move quickly if they are to take pole position.

Former CEO Nigel Howe, who has been placed in charge of securing the sale, is thought to be brokering this deal.

Reading FC fans have been here before

Although this update is promising, it's clear that exclusivity needs to be confirmed before the Royals' supporters get too excited.

After the Genevra deal collapsed, fans know a deal isn't done until it's done and even if exclusivity is confirmed, a sale isn't certain.

What is certain is the fact the owners Dai Yongge and Dai Xiu Li and the CEO Dayong Pang need to be removed from their positions as quickly as possible.

If a sale does that, that's a positive for some fans who were fully expecting the club to enter administration.

But there's a long way to go until a sale is completed and until that moment, the supporters can't afford to take their eye off the ball.