Oyston/Belokon saga: What we know and what could happen next

Oyston, the owner of Blackpool FC since 1988, released a 1,000-word statement where he offered his controlling stake in the club to Belokon for £5m.

However, his offer made no mention of the Bloomfield Road stadium, hotel or training ground - which is currently considered unusable with the squad training in Preston instead.

It is the first public announcement we have heard from either side since the two parties met in Latvia last month.

On July 4, Oyston flew to Riga alongside Jonathan Disley - a businessman he has been in talks with regarding a rumoured investment for the last few weeks.

While the nature of the talks remains unclear, representatives for Belokon told The Gazette the meeting went well and are hopeful the talks will help to bring about a resolution.

The auction process was put on hold and an initial 14-day deadline was imposed for Oyston, who was said to be in the midst of a “complicated transaction”. The deadline was missed and no news has emerged from either side since, until yesterday that is.

Disley remains in talks with Oyston and has been pictured alongside him at recent games, most recently at Blackpool’s season opener at Wycombe Wanderers last Saturday.

He then instigated a meeting with Blackpool Supporters’ Trust on Wednesday, where both parties agreed to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement.

As for Belokon, he is still owed £25m following last year’s High Court judgement. Rumours of a statement from Latvia have persisted for the last couple of weeks but they have proved to be exactly that, just rumours.

So what is likely to happen next? Will Belokon issue a response to yesterday’s statement?

It appears unlikely that he will agree to Oyston’s proposal, given the deal would likely see Oyston remain as landlord of the football stadium - a situation deemed unaccacetable by the club’s long-suffering fanbase.

So will he continue with the auction process? That’s likely to be a long-drawn out affair, but it could be the only way of getting the cash he is owed.

As far as we know, legal enforcement remains on hold and, if we were to eventually happen, would likely be delayed due to the summer recess in the courts.

Could Belokon enter negotiations with Oyston? Again, that seems an unlikely scenario as Belokon is known to have grown tiresome of Oyston’s shenanigans and game-playing.

Thirdly, could Oyston come to an agreement with an external investor or someone who is willing to buy the club outright? That's a difficult one to answer as we know several parties have already held talks with Owen, but still no agreement has been reached.

We know talking with Oyston and coming to an agreement with him are two very distinct things. It's also understood a number of those parties have been put off by the ongoing legal dispute.

Either way, the club continues to suffer on the pitch - as seen by Gary Bowyer’s resignation earlier this week - the football authorities sit ildly by and an end to this farcical situation doesn’t appear to be in sight any time soon.