Thomas Sandgaard told the SLP on Monday that negotiations were progressing well, and that his bid to buy the club could be completed by the end of the week.

Alex Barclay has withdrawn from the race to give Sandgaard a clear run, though the pair could collaborate further down the line.

Here is what the 62-year-old Dane had to say:

“Talks are progressing really positively, it looks like in theory everything could be done before the end of the week. The reality is often that you get surprises along the way.

“I had a really good conversation with Andrew Barclay this morning. He is definitely a nice guy and I appreciate getting to know him. He’s realising it is probably better to just have one party negotiating with all these characters surrounding the club.

“That’s what we’ve agreed to do. We’re all on the same page now.”
Sandgaard considers himself to be “very flexible” on how the deal is structured, but has certain criteria that are non-negotiable:

“But I’m also very focused on making sure that the team is playing its games at The Valley – that is very dear to my heart. I will make sure that happens.

“But other than that I’m very flexible negotiating and that’s also why I’m probably able to negotiate with all the characters in this deal. There is always a way, as long as you want to be flexible.

“Of course a lot of money is being discussed. It is about making sure people get their fair share but I think everyone is very reasonable at this point. 

“The problem in the past is that there were persons involved who might not be so reasonable and that made it difficult. We all need to keep clear heads.”

Sandgaard did not totally rule out moving away from The Valley further down the line though:

“For me it is about the Valley immediately and The Valley in the medium term, in the long term we could be doing so well in the Premier League that we need a stadium that is bigger and better than West Ham.

“But I have got no plans to do that. We’ve got to win some games first before anything else becomes a reality.”‎

Fans will be keeping their fingers crossed that the deal is completed quickly.

The draw for the first round of the Carabao‎ Cup will be made at 10.00am on Sky Sports News this morning, followed by the draw for the EFL Trophy at 1.30pm on Talksport 2.

The fixtures for the new season will be released on Friday at 9.00am.

Lee Bowyer is hopeful that Adam Matthews will be at The Valley for the new campaign. The club’s embargo means salaries will be capped at £1,300 per week for new signings, though if the takeover deal goes through, that will rise to £2,000pw.

It would be no surprise if Tom Lockyer is still plying his trade in SE7 during the 2020/21 season either.