New £200m Southampton FC takeover revelation emerges | OneFootball

The Saints' owners are reportedly considering letting the club go should the right offer come along.

Southampton chairman and Sport Republic's lead investor Dragan Solak may be willing to sell the club should an offer close to £200 million come in.

The Saints' airwaves have been bombarded with sale talk over the last few days after former Crystal Palace owner turned talkSPORT presenter Simon Jordan revealed live on the national radio station that he'd heard a rumour about the club being available to buy.

Sport Republic only bought their 80% share in Southampton in January 2022 for £100 million from former Chinese owner Gao Jisheng, but talk has intensified about their apparent willingness to sell, despite the chairman reiterating his commitment to the club when he took the chair position in January 2023, after fellow investor Henrik Kraft stepped down from the role.

Dragan Solak open to £200m sale of Southampton

According to Football League World's sister publication, GiveMeSport, the Saints' boss has indicated that he may be willing to let go of his stake in the club should a prospective buyer come along with a £200 million offer.

A £125 million price tag was initially touted following Jordan's comments, but that was quickly dismissed as an unlikely amount for Solak and his investors to sell for; this has now been corroborated by GMS.

The Serbian businessman believes that he can make more than £100 million in sales this summer. This, combined with the price that Sport Republic paid for their share of the club, would make selling the entire club for just £25 million more completely futile.

The Daily Echo did report on Tuesday that Solak is not directly looking to sell Southampton at the moment and that he'd told senior figures at the club that he was committed to the project long-term.

Relegation to the Championship in record-setting fashion, becoming the first club in the competition's history to be relegated with seven games left in the campaign, and they are still level with Derby County's all-time Premier League low for points scored in a single season (11), is not thought to have done too much damage to Southampton's value, as per GMS.

Any prospective takeover would take long enough that the Saints may be in a good position to regain their top flight status by the time it is completed.

Dragan Solak would surely need an undeniable offer to leave Southampton now

If Solak and the rest of the Sport Republic members are looking to cash in on their £100 million investment and maximise the return, now is certainly not the time to do it.

Although GMS reports that the relegation shouldn't hit the club too hard in any takeover negotiations, they have still lost the huge draw of being able to say 'We're a Premier League club.'

To sell now, whilst they are on the way down, with a chance to climb back up the mountain just months away, just wouldn't be logical.