New Reading FC, Dai Yongge takeover twist emerges | OneFootball

A promising update has emerged on the Royals' situation, with the club potentially closing in on exclusivity.

League One side Reading have been the subject of four bids from interest parties after Rob Couhig's attempted takeover of the club collapsed.

This is according to BBC Radio Berkshire's Tim Dellor (1hr, 33 minutes), who revealed on the radio station that current owner Dai Yongge is set to spend the next two days deciding on which of the four bids he's going to proceed with.

The Royals' fanbase have experienced so many false dawns before, but after Couhig's deal collapsed, they will be relieved that there are numerous parties still at the table and willing to complete a deal to purchase the club.

With Couhig's exit from the race revealed in a club statement last month, it was unclear how long it was going to take for a new deal to be agreed.

Many fans felt the club were back at square one after a lengthy takeover process - and there were genuine fears for the future of the third-tier side.

On the pitch though, the Berkshire side are doing fairly well, with back-to-back wins in the past week allowing Ruben Selles' side to get themselves back on track following a couple of disappointing losses.

Currently sitting in 12th place ahead of their away match against Rotherham United, they are in a fairly good place at the moment, considering their off-field situation and the fact they were only able to make one signing during the summer.

Considering quite a few players have left the club since the end of last term, including four released players, their former loanees and Femi Azeez, who signed for Millwall, the fact they are in midtable is a fairly decent achievement and Selles deserves a lot of credit for that.

However, they need off-field certainty and only a takeover will be able to provide that, so a sale is needed as quickly as possible.

Thankfully, it looks as though some progress may be made in the coming days.

Dai Yongge looks set to choose his preferred Reading FC bid

Over the next 48 hours, Dai will choose his preferred bidder out of the four that are currently at the table.

Three of those parties are believed to have been interested before Couhig attempted to buy the club and one new bidder.

The identity of those bidders remains unclear at this stage, but the fact there are four bids gives the Royals' owner a good choice.

There's enough money at the club to keep it running until mid-November, according to Dellor, so the preferred bidder or Mr Dai will need to pump money into the club if a deal isn't completed by then.

After 5pm this evening, sale broker Nigel Howe will no longer be able to be involved because of his FA ban, but it looks as though much of his work is done already.

Ruben Selles and his Reading FC team deserve certainty

Selles and the players have stuck with the Royals and been extremely professional.

The fans have had a big role to play in that - because they have continued to get behind the team.

The fans, the coaching staff and the players all deserve so much better - and the best thing Dai can do now is sell the club to a suitable custodian.

If he can do that, everyone can move on, including Dai.

It makes no sense to prolong the process anymore, so the Royals' owner must look to pick his preferred bigger as quickly as possible.