Reading FC are in a precarious position as they sit at the bottom of the League One table.
Alan Nixon claims that should the League One club keep missing payments to HMRC, they may be subject to a winding-up order.
This season, the EFL has already placed the Royals under a transfer embargo, costing them four points in deductions.
With just six points after 14 games in the season, Ruben Selles’ team is now at the bottom of the third-division standings.
At this early point in the competition, the Berkshire team’s situation could yet get worse. The gap to safety is eight points.
What is the latest Reading takeover news?
According to Talksport, Mike Ashley is considering an offer to try to purchase the club from current owner Dai Yongge.
Yongge has become a very unpopular figure among supporters due to his running of the team, which has seen them drop into the third tier of English football for the first time since 2002.
Ashley is the former owner of Newcastle United.
The English businessman owned the Magpies for 14 years before selling them in 2021, with the club battling against relegation from the Premier League.
William Storey has also been linked with a potential takeover deal worth £50 million, but no progress has been made on that front in recent weeks.
The threat of relegation to League Two looms large at the moment for Reading, and the financial concerns over the HMRC tax bill only make those threats seem even more worrying.
What is the current financial issue at Reading?
It is believed that an eight-figure sum is needed for Reading to get through the rest of the season, with an immediate tax figure also needed, albeit at a smaller size.
HMRC have dealt with a number of football clubs in recent years, but it appears Reading’s is the most precarious, and there is some uncertainty over whether they will be able to make the payments in time.
Failure to do so could have a serious impact on the future of the club.
Ashley’s team has been looking into what the cost of taking over the Royals would be as he weighs up a rescue offer, and the most pressing concern that has emerged is the current tax bill.
Can Reading survive this season?
The threat of relegation is now becoming a secondary concern for the Royals, with actual survival from a winding up order now a bigger issue.
The club could cease to exist if the situation is not resolved soon, which would be a major loss.
Reading supporters will be hoping that someone can find an agreement to purchase the club from Yongge quickly, as it is apparent that the current owner will not save the Royals.
Reading were competing in the Premier League as recently as 2013, but a decade later they have fallen as far as a team reasonably can, and much of the blame is at the feet of Yongge’s ownership.
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