Dens optimism grows

Giovanni de Stefano wants to buy Dens Park and lease it back

Dundee's administrator is optimistic that the club can now survive at least until the end of the season as he considers a bid from Lithuanian businessmen to take over the club.

Controversial lawyer Giovanni di Stefano has claimed that the club will go into liquidation.

But administrator Tom Burton told BBC Sport that selling Scotland midfielder Gavin Rae to Rangers for around £250,000 had given him renewed hope that the club will not go under.

Lithuanian financier Vladimir Romanov claims he will pay off Dundee's £20m debt - if he is allowed to use the Scottish club to showcase the top young players from his homeland.

And rival suitor di Stefano has formed a new company called Dundee City to take over if the Dens Park club, who went into administration in November, goes into liquidation.

But both those plans could be thwarted thanks to the money from Rangers.

Burton had warned that additional redundancies would have been required had they not achieved that transfer figure during January.

I believe that they are actually talking about taking care of all of Dundee's debts Deal broker Liutauras Varanavicius

Deal broker Liutauras Varanavicius is still waiting for a response from Dundee following a meeting last week.

The Rae transfer makes it more likely that striker Nacho Novo and Scotland defender Lee Wilkie, who are the club's other most saleable assets, will prolong their stay with the Scottish Premier League club.

It will also give Burton more leeway in considering the proposal from Kaunas-based Romanov, who recently sold a substantial stake in his Lithuanian bank, Ukio, to a major Russian oil conglomerate.

"I was very surprised to read on the internet that a figure of £2m of investment was discussed with the administrator," he told the Daily Mail.

"I don't know where that came from. I believe that they are actually talking about taking care of all of Dundee's debts."

The group headed by Romanov already owns FBK Kaunas, previous European opponents of Celtic, but it would be a takeover by their owners rather than the football club itself.

Dunfermline Athletic chairman John Yorkston recently travelled to Kaunas for talks but decided against a youth development player-exchange scheme.

Lithuanian interest in Dundee

"The Lithuanian market really is developing now and want to open it up for our top young players," said Varanavicius.

"This is not about Dundee for us. We want to bring in our own ideas, our own methods and our own players."

Di Stefano, meanwhile, has tabled an "unconditional offer" to buy Dens Park and its car park for £835,000 and then lease back the ground to the club for £2,000 per month.

The Italian, whose promise of multi-million pound investment failed to prevent the club going into administration, told the Daily Record: "It's clear now that Dundee Football Club will be placed into liquidation, so to be sure there is football at Dens Park and protect the situation, I have formed Dundee City Football Club Ltd, using current European Union legislation and some political influence at Fifa."

He hopes that new legislation could be passed to allow a new club to be formed and retain their place in the SPL.