According to The Athletic’s Matt Slater, Joseph DaGrosa will look elsewhere if Southampton’s majority owner Gao Jisheng does not lower his price (around £200 million) for the club, with Newcastle United and West Ham United his most likely alternatives.
The American investor wants to buy a club in the English top-flight, and he looked at Newcastle in 2019.
However, his interest never advanced beyond the preliminary stage.
Nevertheless, the St. James’ Park outfit remain high on Kapital Football Group’s list of potential anchor clubs, and West Ham also fit the profile of clubs that Kapital is targeting.
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Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund were looking to take over Newcastle a few months ago in a £300m deal, but the move fell through after they pulled out of talks during the Premier League’s Directors’ and Owners’ Test.
It remains to be seen if they will return for talks anytime soon, but the Magpies remain an attractive option for investors, and DaGrosa could be looking to swoop.
Newcastle owner Mike Ashley remains more than keen on selling the club, but whether the American will agree with his asking price is unknown.
West Ham were linked with a takeover last September, with co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan rejecting a £400m bid from an American consortium.
DaGrosa believes the coronavirus pandemic has wiped at least £50m off Southampton’s value, but the current Saints majority owner is clearly not keen on selling the club for £150m.
Ashley is not likely to reduce his £300m asking price for Newcastle either, while the Hammers owners are apparently looking for more than £400m to sell their shares.
Kapital Football Group aims to emulate City Football Group and also take advantage of the pandemic to make investments, but they have to be willing to break the bank if they want to buy any Premier League outfit right now.
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