Rapid-moving Rangers takeover stuns expert as mega £61m Leeds United loss dissected

The Rangers takeover is progressing 'quicker than expected' according to one expert - but it comes as the prospective new owners posted huge losses at Leeds United.

Record Sport revealed the legal red tape holding up the move is likely to be rubber-stamped by the end of April.

And Dr Dan Plumley, Sport Finance Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, admitted that was 'huge news', adding: “It’s probably quicker than I would have expected, if we cast our minds back a few weeks, if it does get to the stage where they’re at the place in April, that’s a really quick turnaround in the context of where these takeovers seem to land.”

Speaking to Ibrox News, he added: “It looks likely to happen, and that would be huge news for the club if they do get over that legal hurdle and can kick on by the end of April.

“Let’s wait and see, but it seems to be moving ahead at a pace and seems to be mostly positive from what I’ve seen in terms of getting this deal done, and everybody connected is wanting to get this deal done.”

Rangers are hoping the new owners will lay a more stable financial foundation after their more recent loss of £17m announced at the end of last year took the club's total net loss over the last decade to nearly £100m.

However, Leeds United, also owned by 49ers Enterprises and whose chairman Paraag Marathe and American tycoon Andrew Cavenagh will soon have the keys to Ibrox, posted a pre-tax loss of £61million in their latest set of accounts.

It means the Yorkshire club’s losses over the past three seasons is now at a staggering £131.2m. However, while the 49ers bought a 15% stake in the Elland Road outfit in 2021, and while they were involved at board level during that period, it is only since their full takeover in