It seems that if you want to invest in a football club in the north-east, it will take a while to wrap up.
Only last summer we saw Newcastle embroiled in takeover frustrations when they witnessed a deal with the Saudi Prince Investment fund fall flat on its face.
Of course, there isn’t quite as much money involved at Sunderland, but because of the size of the club, a deal with willing investors is taking a long time to conclude.
Last month, it was reported that Stewart Donald had agreed to sell Juan Sartori and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus but William Storey insists that he’s in the running too.
In fact, the Rich Energy CEO has been incredibly outspoken about his ploy to buy Sunderland, so much so that he’s already outlined what he wants to do if he walks through the door at the Stadium of Light.
One such plan is investing in Premier League talent, utilising the loan market to bring in a handful of U23 players on low wages.
But how would this be possible? Well, Storey revealed to The Chronicle that he has a rather large phone book.
“What I can say is that I am extremely confident, in fact certain, that we would have an immediate injection of some real quality players and I’m very lucky to have some superb relationships in the Premier League, which is an asset that can be used for the benefit of Sunderland Football Club.”
The Mackems have tried a number of strategies since being relegated from the top-flight and they haven’t particularly come off. Therefore, could the help of Storey be beneficial? Certainly, in terms of the mass contacts he has, it would be.
The businessman has already taken on the might of Red Bull in Formula 1, engaging in a war of words and it’s clear he’s not afraid to upset the apple cart and put his name out there.
Crucially, however, is his cut-throat nature. It’s hard to argue that Donald has been particularly aggressive in the north-east and coming from a non-league background at Eastleigh, he clearly wouldn’t have had too many eye-catching contacts.
That’s different with Storey, someone who insists he knows people in high places. If he does know plenty in the Premier League then achieving promotion back to where they want to be surely becomes easier.
If he secures a deal with Sunderland, Storey simply has to use this strategy. It could well ensure promotion.