Birmingham's prospective new owners have held lengthy, promising talks with boss John Eustace.
Ex-Barcelona striker Maxi Lopez has teamed up with Brum fan and businessman Paul Richardson, who first tried to buy the club a decade ago. Richardson, a Gymshark shareholder and ex-chairman, has paid a £1.5million deposit with a view to completing a £36.5m buy-out.
He anticipates getting control of the club next month when he is due to complete due diligence and get EFL approval. Richardson and Lopez spent Tuesday and Wednesday at the club's ground St Andrews.
The pair met key staff on Wednesday, including Eustace,42, who only took charge on a three-year deal earlier this month. The ownership duo spent an hour with Eustace in productive talks and a similar amount of time with technical director Craig Gardner.
No major changes are on the horizon imminently as Richardson and Lopez continue to assess the club ahead of taking control from Far East firm Birmingham Sports Holdings Limited.
They also met Brum chairman Wenqing Zhao on Tuesday after agreeing to buyout City’s largest individual shareholder Vong Pech, who has a 21.64% stake.
The duo then intend to complete a buy-out over two years with payments of £26.5m and then a further £10m. Their deal also includes an additional £10m payment if City are promoted before June 2026 after Lawrence Bassini failed to get control.
Richardson , who is using some of his own cash plus external finance, said: “It is too early at this stage to think about the Premier League but we have ambition. I am a Birmingham guy and I feel for what the fans have been going through the past few years.”
Richardson plans to bring in controversial former Charlton chief executive Matt Southall, who he has known for years, to run the club. Richardson said: “We need someone in this club who has experience in a tough environment. We have some tough decisions and we believe he’s the right guy to do it.”
Lopez, who is living in England, added: “I think it's a huge project with this team. When we spoke about this project before, we believe we can do big work with this city and for our fans."
The pair want to invest in Brimingham’s academy , which previously nurtured Jude Bellingham and use Lopez’s South American contacts to bring in overseas talent - but have ruled out a move for Diego Costa,33, as too expensive.
Other investors joining them down the line is possible, which leaves the door open for ex-owner David Sullivan , who has the option to sell the rest of his West Ham shares to Czech billionaire and shareholder Daniel Kretinsky. Current rules prohibit directors from running more than one club for fear of conflict of interest.
