Leeds Rumours Archive July 12 2012

12 Jul 2012 22:47:56
JOHN GUIDETTI: 20 yr old Swede striker who has been with Manchester City. Think he's just been released but apparently fast and hot. Noted that Huddersfield were prowling but he seems keen in some articles to go to Italy. Keep an eye on him cus NW aint no fool and wont miss an opportunity if he thinks hes worth it. We have big Scandinavian following so potential draw.

GET GUIDETTI ON LOAN FOR COMING SEASON..!!!!!!!!!!
He knows where the goal is and will put in at least 20 in Championship..!!!!!!!

Aye good player for feynoord. Annoyingly some guy just beat my Leeds in fifa 12 in the last minute with him scoring a freekick.

Dont want to slag fellow LUFC fans but this is a serious joke! John Guidetti who scored what 20 goals in 23 games in top flight in Holland. Most of top clubs in Europe are after this kid, we aint got a chance. Lets at least have one season before we start bidding for Messi etc etc!

He's that good that Man City release him ? I did note that he was actually interested in moving to Leicester a while back so he does harness some interest in Championship football. Would certainly increase value and appeal to big clubs if he was on regular display banging goals in so why not choose Leeds ? Obvious City arent gonna let him have first team slot with so much competition

12 Jul 2012 21:49:12
been speaking to a girl who knows one of the secretarys at Thorpe Arch. Says ex premier league midfielder will be signing this week

Probably someone who's past it has been like Alan smith.

If it is happening, then my money is on it being Buzacky, however you spell it. He would really give a team some much needed spark.
mot4life

Ex premier league player as "played in premiership last season" or has just played in the premiership in the last 10 years! Your rumour is probably true!

Can't be Alan Smith, he's just signed a 2 year deal with MK Dons.

To be fair Varney played for Blackpool in the Prem, so could easily be him!

Sorry, but there's plenty of dross in the Prem. After all, didn't we sign "ex-Prem stars" Brown & Pugh last year?! Means nothing, I'm afraid! Chapel A

12 Jul 2012 20:14:08
Lee Peltier and Luke varney to sign in the next week while DJ Campbells situation continues to be watched

I Don't rate either that highly...hope he has some better signings up his sleeve than whats continually getting mentioned on here

12 Jul 2012 18:56:34
This sounds a little far flung but persevere:

Today I got a flight home from Venice where in the queue to check in my bags I got speaking to a fellow Leeds fan behind in the queue, we were speaking about the potential investors, he told me he has a friend who works on the security around Thorp Arch and has seen 3 Asian/Chinese looking accountants going in and out of Thorp Arch for the last three months or so. He couldn't say any more due to the due diligence but was able to mention that he'd seen them.

I'm aware this sounds rather far-fetched but it's honestly what I've been told and can see no reason as to why anybody would make it up

I don't think the company accounts would be kept @ Thorpe Arch. They are probably locked up in a safe in Uncle Kens office in Monaco,

Ah... the old friend of a friend. You know one of my friends (a girl) actually thinks unicorns are real. But it doesn't mean they are, does it?

Maybe someone's ordered a Chinese?

Brighouse white

Uncle Ken will tell us all in his time,as he does hate most of us this could be one hell of a p**s take.

Original poster here:

This is the honest truth, can only tell you what I've heard, their has been apparent interest since the turn of the year...

You are dead right, first poster!!



It does sound far fetched!!

Mind you, when I was in Tescos at the weekend, paying for my petrol, I did see a friend who knows nothing whatsoever....

What has "due diligence" got to do with your friend-of-a-friend's ability to say all that he knows? Do you know what due diligence means? Do you know what day it is? Don't talk to strangers in queues.....

Uncle ken has opened a chinese buffet restaurant at thorp arch.

With respect... even if this is 1,000,000% true, your only telling us what we already no.. were going through due dil .... its not new news mate

12 Jul 2012 17:09:53
Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa poised to takeover leeds

http://www.gulfweekly.com/Articles.aspx?articleid=29005

He's put out a denial through the Bahrani Govt. Another one bites the dust.

Its just the same rumour thats already been in every newspaper and rumour site going. No new news here

The press have a good noise for a story and for more then 1 of them to print this guys name,No smoke without fire.unless your on a coach on the M5 with an ELITE.

I've heard it's the Russian Billionaire, Hugi Nickurpopov

12 Jul 2012 16:27:38
ken Bates is the new owner, he is just doing what he did before moving all our cash to a dodgy bank somehwhere. NW says the new owner will be as tight as Bates , well he says the new owner will run as tight of a ship ! which can only means Bates as nobody is as tight as him. Watch this space we will never know who owns leeds the same as it was 2 years ago

You're positive aren't you. Probably one of the 'we won't sign Paddy Kenny' gang who were on here the other day! What's next- the world's going to end in December!

Seriously when did he say tht in the interview , ive watched it several times and he said nothing like that

I dont think you can sell something to yourself on account that YOU ALREADY OWN IT!

Some people need to get a grip on their paranoia on this site

Could perfectly feasibly be this. Bates could simply move his tax haven, re-purchase the club anonymously and perfectly legally (its his to sell), perhaps install someone from the Middle East as a puppet to be the new Chairman - be back to how it was a few years ago with Ken simply a step removed.

Leeds fans forget - he is one clever and highly shady businessman, who did very, very dodgy things like this at Chelsea.

Your also probaly one of the only people who said leeds are not to big to go into administration , not to big to go into league 1 , and are now a selling club. a realist who is probaly exactly right.

Be careful for what you wish for cos from what NW says this new lot could be worse than Bates, a Blackburn type takeover. Im putting a tenner on us to get relegated after that interview. Also surprised if NW stops looked proper peed off.

@Comment 6 ... Leeds United have always been a selling club; John Charles, Joe Jordan, Gordon McQueen, Frankie Gray, David Batty, Gary Speed, John Lukic to name just a few who were sold before the meltdown.

To the guy who said you cant sell yourself something you already own. jimmy carr, philip greene, arry rednapp, and we all know ken bates owns er and ta so dont be so niave

Posters a muppet, or a florist/townie, we already know who the new owner is going to be

Some fan you are! How can you put money on your own team to be relegated? You don't deserve to support Leeds you've obviously never been to elland rd. Armchair fan!

Can somebody explain that IF Ken is re-purchasing the club. Then why bother with a period of due diligence?! Surely he already knows about the ownership structure, hence not necessary at all. Also do you think NW would have come on the basis of KB doing this? I think not. KB knows NW would walk in this event hence being a complete waste of time hiring him in the first place. Im looking forward to the end of the Bates era as you all should be. Also LUST were, to some extent, challenged with soliciting outside investment. They know the investor is legit.LOVE LEEDS HATE BATES

QUITE AN INTERESTING ORIGINAL POST.
IT IS QUITE POSSIBLE THAT BATES IS ACTUALLY DOING A REPURCHASE OF ELLAND ROAD, INITIAL INTEREST IN THE CLUB, INVITATION TO LOOK ROUND, POTENTIAL INVESTORS, DUE DILIGENCE.
ALL THIS WOULD BE PART OF THE "SCAM".
HE COULD INSTALL A PUPPET, SO HE COULD JUST PULL THE STRINGS FROM MONACO, ASSUMING THAT EVERYONE HAS TAKEN THE BATE(EXCUSE THE PUN). HE A SHRUDE BUSINESS MAN, AND JUST BECAUSE HE'S BEEN CHASED BY SO CALLED "MORONS" HE WILL NOT THAT EASILY BE FORCED OUT. HE COULD BE DOING THIS AS A COVER UP AND USE A PUPPET TO TAKE ALL THE STICK. ME, PERSONALLY, I THINK HE'S SELLING UP, BUT NOT FULLY, HE'LL EITHER SELL MOST OF HIS SHARES, BUT STILL HAVE AN INTEREST OR HE'LL SELL UP COMPLETELY. EITHER WAY HE'LL LEAVE LUFC IN A WAY THE TRUE LUFC FANS WILL NOT LIKE!!

What a load of tosh ! Due diligence is a hugely expensive legal process and is usually only started when prices and figures have been agreed for a purchase. If the was purely an investment you would not perform due diligence. The stories regarding Kens health are probably true at 82. Also when you paid 1.00 for the club and then spent max 8 miilion quid on the infrastructure and could sell for between 41 - 70 million quid, when you are both a sucessful business man and one of the most villified chairmen in football would you want to extend your tenure as chairman ! Give your head a shake lad ! MOT

The new person has been through the fit and proper testing with the FA haven't they? Do we really think Bates would pass this?!!

12 Jul 2012 16:00:51
Ticket office closed Friday....
Billys Bar closed Friday (4pm)
Howards Restaurant closed Friday (4pm)

This time tomorrow will we off been taken over?

No the bar and restaurant are closed because of the annual Jehovah's witness' conference and the ticket office is merely being upgraded.

That would be awsome but its much more likely that we just wont be able to buy tickets or have a drink or eat an over priced meal at Elland Road and nothing more.

NW blew his nose while he stood in the background of a SSN segment earlier. Maybe that's a sign too. 1 sneeze for yes its happening and 2 for Bates has me held against my will.

No!
Ticket office closed for upgrades.
Billy's bar & Howards shut due to the annual Jehovah's Witness convention held this weekend every year.

Well no one will be celebrating any birthdays!!

Try again, mate, there's a Jehovah's Witness function at Elland Road this weekend.....

At least somebody will be openly discussing prophets :)) Ohh ... come on, lighten up. It's been a hard couple of weeks.

I wouldnt want to live in beeston this weekend then! can you imagine the amount of knocks you will get at ya door? lol

Yeah taken over by jehovas witnesses. Big do on all weekend

12 Jul 2012 15:14:08
Bates staying on as Chairman for minimum 2 years. He wants to see Leeds go up so he can say it was all him and then he wants to do the whole meet and greet show off thing in the Premiership with other Premiership chairmen. From Wiz Khalifa point of view regards Bates as safe pair of hands and familiar with casino and hotel projects. Looks like a decade of Bates will happen.

Wow do you know what the lotto numbers are going to be this week
how do you know all this when no one knows who is taking over
dont tell me your in the know you work for a bank that as done the take over
you have seen the contracts
is a fact just a load more made up rubbish

Not what I've heard - I understand Ken is actually very poorly.

No problem with ken staying on as long as we get the investment Ken deserves the credit for all he has done

'wiz khalifa' is an american rapper so I don't think he will be buying Leeds United

I have said all along that KB was going no where soon,I still think he will be a part of LUFC for the foreseeable future, regrettably lol, on a serious not tho KB has done a great job for the club, but NOT the Team. So time will tell with all.......MOT
MJB66

Stop worrying about bates....
why gives a toss if he is or isnt aslong as the cash is available Ts

12 Jul 2012 14:10:25
News re the takeover from Paul Burland of calendar its Abdulrahman bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa thats heading a consortium, life long Leeds fan. Hopefully he'll spend his money and get his mates to join in supporting the one and only Super Leeds.
I 'm Sheiking all over!! (well somebody had to do it)

12 Jul 2012 12:10:12
On the OS, Billys Bar and Howards restruant closed tomorrow for "another event" Maybe, just Maybe - NevG

TIP to all Fans - Get your blue and white checked tea towels out .....tie it around your heads with a yellow band for tommorrow lunch in honour of our new Bahrain owners! ....biggest party Leeds will ever see! Cmon Leeds.....be afraid....Leeds are on their way back :) (not slept in over a month in anticipation of this)

More than likeley its to do with jeovas witnessess and there annual convention.
sorry!!

Jehovah's Witnesses convention at elland rd 12/07/2012

To this poster and the one below, is it not the Jehovahs witness conference this weekend so that is why it is closed as it's going to be busy enough round the stadium.

Elland road is closed to general public tomorrow for the annual jehovahs witnesses general meeting.
they always meet up this time of year due to religious ceremonies and other functions.

So how come ticket office is closed also, not just the office but online as well

12 Jul 2012 11:29:37
NW thinking of offering former Leeds player Andy Gray a short term contract for cover until D Somma is back up and running.
Source: Sportsvibe.
Hopefully this isn't true, the last thing we need is another 30+ player at Leeds.

MaltaWhite

Do you think he will bring richard keys with him

It is on the website. He is training with us along with other triallists. No guarantees of a contract though

Gray has asked to train at Leeds, Warnock has agreed, gotta be good for all parties on that basis?

On OS Andy Gray trialist training with team...no commitment from NW

Our midfield could be Brown, Green, White & Gray!

Im afraid it's true, Its on the OS. He's 34 WTF. It is only a trial though please God no. . . . MOT

NickW

With all of the fair play stipulation, and confusion over the takeover, it may not be a bad thing to take him on for a short period of time. If anything, he could lend some experience to the reserves who may be required to make a step up until we are ablt to sign quality new players.

Haha andy Gray I'd rather play with ten men then have him! There's No way Leeds are getting billionaire owners if these are the caliber of players your looking at haha I think the new owners could be even tighter then bates

Our midfield could be Brown, Green, White & Gray!

No don't be silly White is far too young

Andy Gray is a trialist, it's down to him to prove his worth or otherwise, where's the harm in that?

12 Jul 2012 10:35:15
Forest have sacked Steve Cotterill, and are after NW.

With Paddy Kenny at Leeds do you honestly think Neil Warnock will even think for one second about a Forest move ? No chance...not a splash in the ocean

Mcleish has been linked, NW reckons he is staying, can't see him going back on that now we have Paddy Kenny in. SussexLeeds

They dont say they are after any particular person. SSN has linked a number of managers including McCarthy, Darren Ferguson and NW.

Get in,,, cheers pal, you just won me £50.., I said within 2hrs for the warnock link..... Anyway... I wud be concerned that the owner you now have seems to think he knows more about the club in 48hrs than Cotterill knew last season!! Oh dear, Romanov springs to mind... Don't worry, at least the new owner can pick the team !!

This news is poor, and i suppose this what comes with a takeover, but they never give him a chance

Cant see it

like n.w said there not a problem selling leeds to player as with the merry men it would be like selling ice to the north pole
you cant make poundland into harvey nicks
as you have only got a millionair
lets face you would need a trilionair
to get on the same step as city
and probly have to move your ground a bit nearer derby to get a few more suporters

Funny that, its reported on Sky Sports that they are after Mcleish!

KTJ - Abu Dhabi

NW is not going to bring in HIS players especially Kenny and then walk away to the same size task as he's taken on here. It's time that we got on with preparations for the coming season and let the takeover progress in its own time. Doubtfull if anyone with megabucks would take so long to complete.

Kenny would not have signed if he thought warnock was gonna jump ship talk about putting 2+2 together and getting 5 !!

Warnock to forest then and a short stay in leeds for kenny. forest promoted and leeds relegated. i'm sick of this now, how many more bates lies do we have to take. he treats the fans like s***e

Doubt this rumour very much. But on a serious note I feel sorry for Steve Cotterall and there goes loyalty out of the window. I suppose he his just added to the history as the present owner quoted on buying the club.

Where does it state NF after NW?
It doesn't, so shut up!
JB

It a bit simlier to blackburn when thay got rid off big sam we all know what happend there

'Warnock to forest then and a short stay in leeds for kenny. forest promoted and leeds relegated. i'm sick of this now, how many more bates lies do we have to take. he treats the fans like s***e'

Ha ha ha ha get a grip man wtf has this to do with Bates, grow up will you.

The only attraction now which nffc is the amount of money they have to spend or have promised to spend. the only way warnock will leave is if he is promised millions for his own wages and even more millions to spend on players. if he stays it will mean he's happy at lufc, with the amount of money he's been promised from this takeover, if he goes, obviously, the takeover is not bringing in the money he had hoped!!

I hope this isn't the case but what if there is a chain - Forest takeover. Forest sack Cotterill. Leeds due major announcement. It has all been very clandestine. Mayhap Warnock has been lined up all along for Forest, Leeds' new owners have someone in place and have waited for the Forest news prior to the 'revelatory' ER press conference? Not a rumour at all but just a possibility.

'The only attraction now which nffc is the amount of money they'

That is a pretty big attraction

As a forest fan all I'm saying is andy Gray haha no Leeds fan can say owt go sign ur freebies n oaps n let us spend the money {Ed013's Note - As you are a Forest fan why don't you enjoy your own site?}

Hay has a leeds fan im saying dont worry about us you worrie about your own nightmare if its not bad enough been called blackburn
but been called blackburn 2
well it mite be an improvment
as blackburn are a mutch bigger club
he he he

There are so many idiots about, the warnock link was months ago,been dragged up by a florist because they were knocked back by redknapp,lol, big club my a***

It's been mentioned already nothing is certain in football, just because paddy has signed doesn't mean NW wont walk, remember david livermore leeds player for 10 days, never kicked a ball sold to hull.
If NFFC have money bates will sell.

12 Jul 2012 09:58:36
Neil warnock interview on skysports says takeover no where near dine even if is going through. If is will be weeks away. he also says new owners wont be billionaire spending lavishing and spending will be sensible. bit disapointing to us dreamers but at least a bit of news

Canny...likely has been 'advised' to say this so as not to inflate transfer prices, wage demands. I would suggest a tactic to manage greedy players/agents/selling clubs. If the rumour of sheik mohammed bin whatsisname is true then this would make sense to me! Also if [he] is only part of a consortium one could reasonably speculate other partners are in a similar position to him wealth wise? MOT

Well hes not gunna say YES we have millions to spend is he.... switch on... MOT

We're we watching the same interview? He didn't comment at all about the completion date. He stated that the due diligence was continuing and hoped for sunnier times ahead. No where in that did he says the takeover was far from completion.

Are you a doom merchant and do you make it up as you go along

Think about it? he aint going to say the owners are loaded and will splash loads of cash as all his transfer targets will have a coaple of zero's placed on their value as per everything else the club is involved in.

A bit of an inaccurate re telling of the interview. Warnock was very clever in what he said, he didn't deny or confirm who the buyers were, what the timescale was or the exact funds available. He just said it was "Ongoing" and that he hoped to have his team ready in a few weeks. He did say it was a takeover though, which despite all the rumours on here & elsewhere has never been confirmed by the club. He really said a lot but nothing in reality, good work Neil.

Are you some kind of script writer embellishing what was actually said! Everyone can see the interview on the Sky Sports website. Warnock said it has been difficult trying to build a squad with everything going on. The only specific mention was that Due Diligence was ongoing (most credible sources suggest this phase is complete).

Id love to know what these morons have running through their heads. Do they make things up for the hell of it. I think a lot of the people who have said this that and the other over the last few weeks need help or sectioning. Until an official nnouncement is made via the reliable sources, ie SSN, YEP or the Club itself all we are going to get is cranks making things up for attention. Seriously, get a life you sad people!

He called the the Consortium a 'Group' so maybe it is Abdulrahman Al Khalifa backed with money from the Gulf Region? like we keep reading about

he didnt say anything about the wealth but said he would be thrifty

Lets face it, if the takeover, if thats what it is goes through there will be more money, more than likely to invest in the team. But that money is not going to be here before the start of the season, that's obvious with the calibre and contract situation of the players we have signed, are signing (linked with). No real large sums being spent therefore no real large sums available before the season starts. Not gloomy though, there will be more cash (hopefully) by the January window. Just my thoughts, no basis in fact. Question is, Is that going to be good enough to keep Snoddy or is his sale gonna fund 2 or3 more recruits???
Excroggy white
ExCroggywhite

12 Jul 2012 09:13:58
some news from our friends at YOP is that neil is interested in taking former leeds striker andy gray back to leeds.......just a rumour and i for one hope it ain't true, we need to look at getting better players than him to strengthen our team.....i would go for


1: simon cox
2: nicky maynard
3: charlie austen
4: craig-mackail-smith
5: evans-blake

any of these would have more fire power than gray and would fit in with becchio n mccormack if he stays.....than id try n get lewis mccugan to give us a bit of creativity in the middle.


SUPALEEDS11

Also Michael Kightly from Wolves, he is class if fit, a premier league player IMO, unfortunately struggled big time last season with injuries however get him fit and he is dangerous in any championship side! He may cost a few quid but if (and only IF) this takeover happens I think he should be the type of quality we should be signing for this division!

Gordon Strachan was 32 when we signed him. The rest is history

Hi, YOP, is that the yoghurt based drink I liked when I was lad?

tRip

Gordon Strachan was always a quality player, how can you compare him to Andy Gray?

Cox would be a good signing if we could get him

These names would all be good signings, i reckon a decent creative midfield player is also needed, we have a great manager now so its time for a real crack at promotion this season MOT

12 Jul 2012 09:03:28
YEP reporting that Leeds are in for Andy Gray - good striker - 5 years ago!! Is Warnock just trying to follow up the most obvious signing of the summer with the most shocking? May as well just hold on to Billy Paynter

Andy Gray is 35 in Nov, hope it's one of YEP made up stories.

Andy Gray is poor. Would take Darius Henderson from Millwall if we wanted that type fo players.

TeejLUFC

Andy Gray is a good footballer he just has never had the pace for the top level. What we need is the take over sorted so we can see the monetary level we are at and then find the best players available at this level.
Bates knows his time is up, lets have the new hope.

It's bad enough having to listen to the incredibly negative Eddie Gray on Yorkshire Radio without having his bloody nephew playing for us too. No thankyou!

If this is true let's hope he turns out to be a poor man's Paul Scholes...only with white blood!

Think he will be a squad player, always does well against us

The last time i saw him in a white shirt was in 1996 at wembley. He was bobbins then! Maybe his dad can come out of retirement, that would be a better prospect!

Agreed! I would much prefer to give billy paynter a real crack at the first team ( I dont believe he has had a proper stint since his injuries) rather than sign gray...... shocking!

He is training with the squad and having a trial. It doesnt mean he will be signed

12 Jul 2012 08:19:16
Leeds set to re-sign Andy Gray from Barnsley. He played in 1996 League Cup Final for us and is set to link up again with Neil Warnock and at the age of 34 settling for a squad place rather than dropping down to play for the other interested club... Bradford. I think will be a good squad addition so looks like Paynter on his way. New owner is Sheikh Abdul Rahman Bin Mubarak Al Khalifa MOT

I'd have kept Danny Webber for that job, least he was a bit younger (a bit)

I'd be disapointed with this, but Warnock does like a lot of strikers

Too old, never been quality, don't need him. As a striker he's no better than Paynter, as a winger i would have to question why we would grab him yet let someone like Lloyd Sam leave. Not saying Sam is great....but Andy Gray......really????????

12 Jul 2012 07:31:30
Paul lambert to offer fabian delph for
robert snodgrass.

I would snap his hand off, that' why i don't belive you :-)

An injured Fabian Delph? Id love to know where people get their ideas from

If delph can get back to fitness i would take that straight swap but reckon we could get some money on top as well, we need a good solid centre mid....saying that we also need good wingers so....?

Fabian Delph for Snodgrass!!! What on earth are you on? What has Delph done since he left us...nothing been injured agreed but no way is he as good as Snoddy. We need to keep him and build the team around him. MOT

If Lambert doesn't want Delph, let's take him anyway, regardless of what happens to Snoddy! Delph would be great once re-established in our centre mid. Chapel A

12 Jul 2012 00:18:57
More news expected from Elland Road later today.
Not sure if its another player signing.

As long as its not Andy Gray i dont care!!!!!!!!

We've had the news, Billy's Bar and Howards is closed over the weekend!

11 Jul 2012 22:35:37
Been speaking to Paul Perkins a physio at Leeds he said watch this week we will be taken over that's why we've already signed paddy cos new owners funded it and varney is just a backup if we sign him there's 1 or 2 more strikers warnock is in negotiations with specified 1 has unbelievable pace. There will be another 2 midfielders signed and definatly 1 if not 2 more defenders I managed to get quite a bit out if him. Believe it or not I trust him

Money from the Clayton deal funded the Paddy deal

This sounds plausable. Apparently warnock will sign varney by the weekend making it five so far with another five being brought in. The investment / takeover consortium apparently gave warnock 1 million up front to fund the paddy kenny deal along with two others (varney and peltier)

I'm sure Mr Perkins would be well pleased you've mentioned him by name and got him the sack. Just another made up tale you've dreamed up mate.

Poor old Perkins!looks like he'll be down the job centre monday!

11 Jul 2012 21:01:05
Does anyone know who any of our trialists are?
M.O.T

Andy Gray(ex Leeds) and Martin Cranie are the only 2 confirmed just now.

11 Jul 2012 20:43:50
ssn cameras at thorpe arch tomorrow around 10am. interview with Neil, make of it what you will. I think its gunna be about paddy or Varney, but we all know what tomorrow is ;) or no we don't cause bates tells us fans nothing LOL

Bryn Law has already tweeted to say he is interviewing Warnock & Kenny for sky, hence the cameras and also said he would ask about the takeover. JH

11 Jul 2012 19:51:47
Heard from a source within a bank that the due dilligence process is now complete and only small formalities on the deal are required. Announcement expected possibly as early as Friday if not Monday.