Tycoon in Blackburn talks vows to allocate £100m transfer kitty
Syed has offered £300m, 15-year investment deal to Rovers
London: An Indian investor plotting the takeover of Blackburn Rovers says he will give Sam Allardyce up to £100 million in transfer funds as part of a £300-million 15-year investment in Ewood Park.
As The Daily Telegraph revealed two weeks ago, Ahsan Ali Syed, an Indian investment tycoon, is hoping to take control of Blackburn in the next month.
A team of negotiators from his company Western Gulf Advisory arrived at the club on Monday hoping to secure agreement on a four-week exclusive negotiation period.
Syed, 36, is the heir to a family fortune estimated at £5 billion controlled by WGA, which is based in Bahrain and the Swiss canton of Zug. Syed says he has targeted Blackburn because of his "passion" for the club and the English game, and is not seeking a quick return on his investment.
"For me the investment in Blackburn is more of a passion than a way to make a quick return from the balance sheets," he said. "I am not investing to make a return in two years and walk away, I am coming in as a fan to invest for the long term." Syed, who has never been to Blackburn and declined to discuss his favourite players, said that if he was successful he would begin his reign by backing Allardyce with funds to consolidate the club's Premier League status.
"As part of our first five-year investment we will make £80 million-£100 million available to the manager. He has done a fantastic job for the club with constrained resources, but I am sure that if he is given a free hand with the resources we can provide then Big Sam has the potential to make wonders."
Syed is confident that he will do a deal, claiming to have agreed proposed terms for a contract prior to Monday's meetings.
