Mandaric says Foxes bid still on

Mandaric is a former owner of Portsmouth

Milan Mandaric has denied his proposed £25m takeover of Leicester City is on the verge of collapse.

Reports claimed the former Portsmouth chairman was set to pull out or seek a price reduction after an examination of the club's books revealed extra debt.

A statement from Mandaric's camp said: "The due diligence has raised certain legal and financial issues which merit further investigation.

"The club and Mr Mandaric are working together to address these points."

An extraordinary meeting of Leicester's shareholders in November gave Mandaric permission to examine the Foxes books, and a formal takeover bid was expected to be made before Christmas.

At that time Mandaric appeared enthusiastic at the prospect of returning to football after his departure from Portsmouth in September.

The 68-year-old Serbian-American businessman said: "It should be a matter of time before we can put this together."

The Foxes Trust, who are shareholders in the club, claimed £25m was an inflated figure for the takeover as Mandaric was unlikely to pay off the £15.9m loan taken out by the club to fund the building of the Walkers Stadium.

The statement from Mandaric said: "Discussions between Mr Mandaric and Leicester City in connection with his interest in the club are continuing."