RALPH Hasenhuttl admits he speaks "very often" with the Saints board about the possibility of a takeover at the club, but added: "As soon as there is any news, they will put it out."

A report by The Athletic today claimed "there is a growing need" for majority shareholder and chairman Gao Jisheng "to offload his stake sooner rather than later" for "financial reasons".

The report goes on to claim Saints could even be sold as early as this month.

Asked if he has spoken to the board about a potential takeover at the football club, Hasenhuttl said: "Yes, I have. As you can imagine, nearly every day I get information from the board, from (CEO) Martin (Semmens).

"We speak very often also about this topic and the only thing I can say is as soon as there is any news, they will put it out and everybody will know it then.

"We know this is a situation we had for long in this club and there is nothing new coming to it.

"So when there is a final decision taken about our future then it will be announced, not earlier."