Simon Jordan has revealed Turki Alalshikh is interested in buying Southampton, as well as Championship rivals Millwall.
The Saudi boxing chief made the headlines recently when it was reported he was keen on extending his investment into English football, with further claims he had held talks with the Lions.
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However, the south London outfit swiftly moved to deny this, insisting the club is not for sale and that no discussions had taken place.
While Alalshikh may not yet have made any official moves towards a potential takeover at the Den, talkSPORT host Jordan has confirmed his interest is very much real.
This comes after he previously disclosed that the 43-year-old businessman had been looking for a way into English football.
And the former Crystal Palace owner had even more news this time around, as he also shared that recently-relegated Southampton are another Championship side to have caught the billionaire’s eye.
Speaking on talkSPORT’s White and Jordan, the presenter was asked if rumours linking Alalshikh with Millwall were true.
To this, he replied: “No it’s not talk, they are interested because they’ve told me.
“I’ve told him and tried to talk him out of Millwall because I don’t think it’s a proper football club, but that’s a different discussion.
“But it is Millwall, and he likes Southampton. I suggested Sheffield Wednesday to him. He doesn’t want Sheffield Wednesday.
“He doesn’t want a club in the north. He wants a club in the south. And Millwall and Southampton are the two clubs that he thinks are interesting to him.”
Jordan then added that he had permission to share this information: “It’s not me breaching confidence – he’s asked me to say that.”
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Alalshikh is no stranger to football investment, having previously owned Spanish side Almeria, before selling them to a Saudi investment group on May 16.
talkSPORT understands multiple English clubs have sounded out Alalshikh over a potential takeover since this news was announced.
Whichever side he does ultimately choose to plough his wealth into is sure to see their fortunes transformed.
The chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia has poured millions into the hosting of high profile sporting events in his homeland, and is estimated to be worth £2.14billion.
And Jordan was quick to emphasise that it is Millwall who are among the favourites to be the beneficiaries of this, as he revealed former chairman Theo Paphitis had even contacted him to see if the rumours were true.
He explained: “They like Millwall, and I even got a phone call from Theo over the weekend, ‘Is that right?’, [said] Theo Paphitis. I said: ‘Apparently’.
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“Now whether they buy a club, whether they like the indexing [is another matter].”
Jordan then added: “Look, I don’t think they’ve approached Millwall but I think they’re categorically interested, and they’re quite happy for it to be known they’re interested.”
And despite talking openly about Alalshikh’s desire to invest in Millwall, Jordan admitted he felt Southampton could be a more attractive prospect with regards to infrastructure.
The Saints boast 32,000-capacity St Mary’s as their home ground, while they recently announced the appointment of highly-rated Englishman Will Still as manager as they bid to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
He admitted: “They’re quite happy for it to be out there, that there are other clubs they’re interested in.
“Southampton, to me, would be the more logical fit – they’ve got a purpose-built stadium, they’ve got all the scale.”
