Madejski still confident of deal despie delay

Reading chairman Sir John Madejski has said that a deal to sell his stake in the club is still likely to go ahead despite a delay in the process.

The 70-year old has agreed to sell his majority stake in Reading Football Club to Thames Sports Investments for around £25 million. The deal was reportedly set to be completed around the end of March but despite concern the deal could potentially be off, Madejski has reassured any of these concerns.

Sir John told the Reading Post: ‘”March 31 was always a guideline and everything will be done in due course. It`s progressing very well. All we`re doing is focusing on the football. The transfer window is shut so we can`t bring players in and players can`t leave. It won`t affect anyone here.’

Madejski added: ‘The process is progressing very well and all due diligence is almost completed, which means the majority of the paperwork is finalised. With a transaction of this importance there`s always an incredible amount to do.’

Russian owner Anton Zingarevich has attended two home games this season, witnessing his potential team win both of them and firmly in contention for promotion to the Premier League. Having already provide funds for the deal of Jason Roberts, plenty more spending could be seen in the summer, irrelevant of which league the Royals are in.