Leeds United 'close' to £30m takeover as lifelong fan Steve Parkin attempts to buy club from Massimo Cellino

Parkin, a multi-millionaire, said to have sent in lawyers to 'check the details'

Leeds owner Massimo Cellino (Getty Images)

Massimo Cellino is close to ending his controversial 18-month tenure in charge of Leeds United, according to reports.

Lifelong fan and multi-millionaire Steve Parkin is said to have made a £30million takeover move for the club, with his lawyers sent in to check the details at Elland Road.

According to the Daily Mirror, a takeover is imminent.

The Italian is a deeply unpopular owner with the staff - as revealed by The Independent - and fanbase and wants out because he is tired of opposition from supporters; he no longer attends matches.

Cellino has insisted that the club is in good condition, with a 'healthy' balance sheet.

"Steve Parkin is a nice man, he loves Leeds," he said. "If he wants to talk, he can talk to my lawyers.

"Many people call me. I tell them to speak to my lawyers.

"They have to pay a bond to see the papers and I don’t allow them to come here to waste time.

"Due diligence would take 30 minutes, because Leeds is clean. The balance sheet is healthy.

"When I bought Leeds, first I paid, then I saw the papers. But now everything is good."

Parkin almost bough the club a decade ago but pulled out after inspecting the club's books. The 54-year-old ex-miner founded Clipper Logistics in 1992 and has an estimated wealth of £188m, according to Management Today.

"I would love to be able one day to put something into Leeds United, whether that’s to own it or be a director or just a beneficiary. You can never say never," he said in 2013.

"I would like to think I could put something in to enable it to thrive again."

Current manager Steve Evans said that a potential takeover will have no impact on how he goes about doing his job.

"No, none," he told the Yorkshire Post. "I made it very clear to the president from the first time I met him that I didn’t want to be involved in any of the off the field issues, just to concentrate on the pitch at Thorp Arch, the team, the players, that can be my remit.

"I’ve met with the president most days that I’ve been there. He gets on with the business side, other than the grass of the football club, and I get on with the team."