Additional reporting: Jacob Tanswell
Southampton owners Sport Republic are close to finalising the purchase of French second-tier side Valenciennes.
They are in a period of exclusivity and the deal now only needs to go through the requisite governing bodies before a takeover can be completed.
Sport Republic bought Southampton in January 2022 with the intention of building a multi-club group. The Athletic reported last summer that they were in talks to buy Valenciennes and Turkish side Goztepe.
In the time since, Sport Republic — which was founded by Danish duo Rasmus Ankersen and Henrik Kraft and bankrolled by Serbian media tycoon Dragan Solak — have seen Southampton drop out of the Premier League and into the Championship.
But they are pressing on with their plans and are now on the cusp of buying Ligue 2 team Valenciennes.
Valenciennes is a town on the French-Belgian border and its football team have spent most of their history yo-yoing between Ligue 1 and 2.
Valenciennes are 15th in the Ligue 2 table but still have to await the outcome of the Bordeaux-Rodez Aveyron match, which was suspended. If Rodez are given the points, they will finish the season in 16th, but avoid relegation by way of a better goal difference than 16th-placed Annecy.
(Photo: Warren Little/Getty Images)
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