"A bit of a worry" - Exclusive: Don Goodman reacts to fresh Reading FC takeover news | OneFootball

Don Goodman has given his view on the latest takeover developments at Reading as the EFL extend the deadline for Dai Yongge to sell the club.

Pundit Don Goodman has expressed his hope that Reading owner Dai Yongge will complete a sale of the club ahead of the upcoming deadline.

It has been a nightmare few years for Reading under Yongge's ownership, with the club dropping into League One and having a total of 18 points deducted amid numerous other off-field issues, and the long-suffering supporters have seen multiple takeover attempts fail.

The most recent of those came in September when former Wycombe Wanderers owner Rob Couhig's bid to buy the club collapsed at the last minute, and the American businessman has been embroiled in a legal dispute with Yongge ever since.

Last month, it emerged that Yongge had been disqualified under the EFL’s Owners’ and Directors’ Test, and he was initially given a deadline of 5th April to sell the club, but on Thursday, he was granted an extension until 22nd April, providing all other regulations are complied with.

Yongge is currently in exclusivity talks with Robert Platek over a potential takeover, and the EFL say that those discussions "remain active and ongoing", but if he does not sell by the agreed deadline, the club could face punishment, with a suspension that would prevent them from playing games one possible option on the table.

In the latest blow to Yongge's efforts to sell the club, Couhig rejected a proposal this week to lift his security over the Select Car Leasing Stadium and the training ground, but the extension of the deadline now gives the pair time to come to an agreement.

Despite the ongoing off-field turmoil, the Royals have somehow managed to continue their promotion push this season, and Noel Hunt's men currently sit seventh in the table, one point from the play-off places, but their 11-game unbeaten run came to an end as they were beaten 3-0 at Blackpool on Tuesday night.

Don Goodman on latest Reading takeover developments

Speaking exclusively to Football League World before the news of the latest extension was announced, Goodman admitted that he is saddened by Reading's plight, and he urged Yongge to do the right thing and sell the club.

"I've said so many times before that I feel so gutted, sorry and sad for the Reading fans," Goodman said.

"They really don't deserve to be going through what they're having to go through, not knowing whether they're going to have a club.

"It is a bit of a worry.

"You would love to think that the EFL will not allow Reading to go the same way as Bury, but ultimately, it may not be in their hands.

"I do hope that some kind of resolution can be made and a buyer can be found, but it's about Dai Yongge, it's all in his hands.

"You would love to think that he hasn't got bad intentions.

"He spent a lot of his own money trying to get Premier League football back to Reading, but I think he took bad advice from the wrong kind of people, and ultimately, it's led us here.

"You just hope that he will help prevail the future of Reading Football Club."

All football fans will surely share Goodman's hope that a solution can be found to save Reading in the coming weeks.

The fact the EFL have agreed to extend the deadline suggests that Yongge is actively engaged in talks with a credible potential purchaser, but there must now be genuine progress in the negotiations, while he also needs to reach an agreement with Couhig.

In a statement last month, Reading stressed that they have the "full intention" of avoiding the worst case scenario of a suspension from the EFL, but as Goodman says, now is the time for Yongge to do the right thing and sell the club as soon as possible.