Turkish consortium eyed up Cats takeover before bidding for rivals

An Instanbul-based group of investors have claimed that they considered a takeover of Sunderland AFC – only to then mount a bid for League One rivals Charlton Athletic.

T h e Tu rk i s h c o n s o r t i - um are led by Ural Akuzum, a businessman who spent a decade on the board of Galatasaray before more recently becoming a shareholder of Dutch side Fortuna Sittard.

Akuzum was recently one of two parties in advanced negotiations over purchasing Charlton, having previously considered a bid for the Black Cats.

It is understood the group’s interest in the club pre-dates the arrival of Stewart Donald, with Ellis Short the man at the helm when the Turkish group eyed a bid.

But Sunderland were simply one of the clubs under consideration by the group as they looked to mount a foray into English football.

Indeed, their focus quickly turned to Charlton and attempts were made to seal a deal.

But a deal failed to materialise after agreements failed to be reached, leaving Dane Thomas Sandgaard – who also claimed to have taken a look at Sunderland – in pole position to purchase the Addicks.

Akuzum’s advisor, Okan Can Tufekci, told the South London Press why the group opted for Charlton over the Wearsiders, and crisis-hit Wigan Athletic.

A group of Turkish investors have considered a bid for Sunderland AFC

One and I shared this with Mr. Akuzum,” he said.

“He gave a positive opinion and authorised me to manage the whole process on his behalf.

“We r e s e a r c h e d c l u b s in the Championship and League One. Sunderland was one of them, as well as Wigan Athletic, but we didn’t contact with them.

"We preferred Charlton because it has a great location in the UK. London is a great location.

“The club has a strong history, it’s a very good club with passionate fans. We saw they made a protest at The Valley stadium. The fans made a huge impact as to why we chose Charlton.”

Sunderland remain on the market, with fresh reports earlier this month suggesting a deal could be concluded before the end of September.

Stewart Donald has reportedly been in a period of exclusivity with an unnamed party for a number of weeks.