Bates renews call to be involved in Leeds takeover

As Ken Bates yesterday made a public denial that he wanted to invest £10m to take a controlling interest in Leeds United, he was privately seeking a second meeting with Sebastien Sainsbury to discuss a takeover partnership.

As Ken Bates yesterday made a public denial that he wanted to invest £10m to take a controlling interest in Leeds United, he was privately seeking a second meeting with Sebastien Sainsbury to discuss a takeover partnership.

It is understood Bates requested that Sainsbury fly tomorrow to Monaco, where Bates is now based, for talks. Sainsbury, who is negotiating with several potential backers of his proposed £25m buyout, will probably rebuff Bates's offer without getting on the plane.

As The Independent revealed yesterday, Bates and Sainsbury met in London last week to discuss how the former Chelsea chairman might become involved in Sainsbury's bid for Leeds. But Bates's offer, to invest £10m in return for 51 per cent of the club and the role of chairman, is unattractive to Sainsbury, who envisages taking over at Elland Road himself.

"I can confirm a meeting took place last Thursday with Ken Bates during which a potential investment was discussed," confirmed Sainsbury, who spent yesterday working on his buyout, which he claims will be concluded "sooner rather than later".

Bates described his own reported ambitions at Leeds as "absolute rubbish". He added: "I have been linked with so many clubs and if they were all true it would take it up to 38."

One source, however, said Bates was talking yesterday about using a "smokescreen" strategy to keep his Leeds bid secret. His money has already been publicly rebuffed by Sheffield Wednesday and, for all his famous thick skin, he would probably rather avoid serial public rejection. Other clubs he has been linked to recently, although not as strongly as Wednesday and Leeds, include Sunderland, Derby County and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Sainsbury has also been invited to invest in Derby, but has no intention of doing so. He remains focussed on Leeds, where the board, desperate to get out after less than a year at the helm, is rapidly running out of options. Norman Stubbs, a local property developer who has been in talks about a rival bid, is understood to be lacking finance, leaving Sainsbury's offer as the only one on the table.

Sainsbury has not disclosed the identities of any of his partners, although two major business figures are considering joining him. As yet, however, none of his self-set deadlines for completion have been met, leaving Leeds's future in the balance.