Daily Echo:

Saints’ Chinese takeover hangs in the balance with optimism starting to fade at St Mary’s that Lander Holdings will complete a £200m deal for the club.

As previously revealed by the Daily Echo, negotiations over the terms of the deal ended some months ago.

All that really stands in the way of the Chinese firm buying a stake of around 80 per cent in the club from current owner Katharina Liebherr is for the financial transaction to take place.

Up until now though that has not happened, and it is believed that the long wait is leading Saints to press ahead with other plans on the assumption that the deal will not be completed.

Last week Lander boss Gao Jisheng was quoted by Reuters as saying of the potential deal: “It is not clear at the moment. The seller is having second thoughts about selling the club.”

The Daily Echo understands that Liebherr’s position remains unchanged.

Liebherr, who inherited the club from her late father, Markus, is committed to selling a substantial share in Saints.

She believes that in order for the club to move forward beyond its current position it needs a large injection of cash, which is something Liebherr cannot provide.

Her wealth, estimated to be in the range of £300m, will not stretch too far when it comes to the level of investment needed for Saints to establish themselves as Champions League contenders in the future.

Saints and Liebherr are left in an awkward position with Lander, still hoping that a deal they feel is in the best interests of the club comes off, and therefore being reluctant to simply write it off, but having to think of the future without it.

Whether they will officially move on with a public statement remains to be seen, but chairman Ralph Krueger is thought to have been sounded out by other interested parties.

There remains a market for Premier League football clubs, but despite a lot of interest, finding somebody prepared to fork out more than £200m in the first place, and then invest significantly more than that figure over time, is extremely difficult.

Liebherr has always insisted she will only sell to somebody who she believes has the best interests of the club at heart.

Her friendship with Gao’s daughter, Nelly, is thought to have been an important factor in the Lander deal having progressed as far as it has.