Dundee United have today emerged as shock potential buyers of an Australian professional football club.
Sources Down Under suggest that United owner Stephen Thompson is in negotiations to purchase struggling A-League club Newcastle Jets from troubled millionaire Nathan Tinkler.
Thompson is reported to have been in Newcastle late last week for meetings with Jets officials and attended the club’s game against Wellington last Saturday night at Hunter Stadium.
It is also understood they inspected Northern NSW Football Federation’s new facility at Speers Point during their visit to the city.
Thompson, who is a regular visitor to Australia, is believed to have held talks with FFA offficials while in Australia and has met with other A-League clubs including Adelaide, Perth, Sydney and Western Sydney during the past three weeks.
He was guest of Adelaide United late last month, attending an FFA Cup game against Central Coast, with the chairman saying at the time he was “constructing relationships” that could lead to promising young Australian players spending time in Dundee.
It is widely known in Australia that the Jets franchise is for sale with Tinkler telling a newspaper in August he “can’t wait to get them out the door”.
Jets officials travelled to England more than two months ago to sound out possible interested parties in the sale of the club.