ESPN Soccernet: Monday, November 25, 2002

Lineker group submit bid for Leicester City

A financial consortium headed by former England striker Gary Lineker has submitted a bid to Leicester's administrators which could secure the future of the club.

Clarke has been working with Lineker and other local people keen to help the cash-strapped Division One side, but he refused to go into financial details. It is believed, however, the consortium is willing to pay £4 million now and a further £1 million in April. However, if the club missed out on promotion back to the Premiership at the end of the season they would be looking for another cash injection.

Clarke said: `There is a consortium of Leicester people led by Gary Lineker who have submitted a bid to the administrators. `It is a very positive bid which, if successful, will secure the future of the football club and allow Micky Adams to keep his team together. `We hope to get some positive feedback from the administrators this week and if it is accepted then we hope to be able to buy the club by the end of December. There are about 30 local people who contributed to the bid and I think it's the right way to ensure local ownership.'

A statement from Deloitte & Touche said: `We have been working hard to stabilise the business to ensure that we have sufficient time to conduct an orderly sale/investment process. `This has been achieved through a combination of measures and we have moved on to the process of identifying and providing information to potential investors. This process is confidential. Our strategy remains to keep the playing squad intact to preserve the best chance of promotion, which we believe provides the best chance of attracting an investor and providing a return to creditors.'

City went into administration at the end of October with debts believed to be around £30 million. The club need to slash the wage bill by 20 percent and the players have agreed to defer a percentage of their income.