New information has come out on a potential Bahrainian takeover of Leeds United nearly three weeks since Leeds United released their latest statement, confirming an exclusivity and confidentiality agreement with an interested party who was undertaking due diligence.

The Bahraini Information Affairs Authority, who had previously denied involvement in a takeover of Leeds, were contacted again today by BBC’s Adam Pope and had the following to say:

This comes three days after ITV ran an interview with Gulf Weekly’s New Editor who said:

[Sheikh Abdulrahman] may be heading the consortium, rather than funding it. He is a well respected gentleman and he’s got some very good, influential and wealthy friends. He’s a very devoted Leeds fan from what we’ve heard. We got the impression it would be announced in the next few days.

With pessimism growing among fans, this string of stories will be a welcome reinforcement to the rumours of a Middle-East based consortium headed by Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa. Sheikh Abdulrahman showed interest in purchasing Leeds in 2003, when the club were over £70m in debt, but did not follow up on his interest. The member of the Bahraini ruling dynasty is a Leeds fan, and although the Telegraph ran a story his reportedly unpaid £375,000 gambling debt, this is unlikely to cause any issues with Ken Bates making no secret of his cynicism towards potential investors until they prove they have the funds required to purchase or invest in the club.