How serious was Huang about buying Liverpool?

Just three weeks after he emerged as the latest Liverpool saviour, Kenny Huang vanished from the scene on Friday night.

During that time we never heard from him in person, saw him at a game at Anfield or got any real sense of who might be backing him.

And yet ask any football follower who Huang is and they would probably be able to tell you - such is the publicity he has received.

Two weeks ago I went to Anfield to cover the story and was amazed to find a fan had already gone out and adapted his club shirt to reflect the possible arrival of Huang. The story had only broken two days earlier.Many are questioning whether Huang actually had the money to buy Liverpool. Photo: Getty Images

That supporter was no doubt seeking publicity on television for his efforts, something we duly gave him. But there are plenty of people who are wondering whether Huang was any different, just chasing his moment in the spotlight or using the media to encourage people with money to get behind him and back his idea.

It wouldn't be the first time. The Premier League is now so high profile and a club like Liverpool so famous, that linking your name to a possible takeover is a sure-fire way of seeing it in headlines around the world.

Liverpool were initially put up for sale by their American owners George Gillett and Tom Hicks in April with debts of �351.4m.

Their largest creditor, the Royal Bank of Scotland, are thought to be owed in the region of �237m and will invoke a �60m penalty fee is it is not repaid, or renegotiated, by 6 October.

Now I am not saying Huang was not a credible bidder for Liverpool. Barclays Capital and Liverpool chairman Martin Broughton, who are handling the protracted sale of the club, said they were treating him as one.

He may have had the Chinese government's China Investment Corporation behind him, but we are all still waiting for confirmation one way or another and, in such a hazy environment of claim and counter-claim, it is virtually impossible to know the truth of that one.

He may have had the backing of a gentleman called Guang Yuang of United States finance house Franklin Templeton Investments, although a spokeswoman for Franklin Templeton was very quick to go on the record and dismiss the suggestion.

He may also have had the help of former Chelsea and Manchester United chief executive Peter Kenyon. It is certainly true Huang and Kenyon know each other but the idea that a man who ran Old Trafford was now involved with a bid to rescue Liverpool may not have gone down well among those fans on the Kop Huang was trying to woo.

There is, of course, the possibility that all this is just a scare tactic, and that when Huang says in his statement, "I am now considering my future options", he is fully expecting Broughton to come rushing to find him clutching a sale contract.

But if he was the only real bidder, why take that chance? Why not sit tight and complete the deal?

The first we all knew about the Roman Abramovich and Abu Dhabi takeovers of Chelsea and Manchester City was when the deals were done. Abramovich didn't threaten Ken Bates across the back pages before closing his deal to buy Stamford Bridge. It just happened and any bid which makes as much noise as Huang's without anything apparently behind it has to be treated with a serious measure of suspicion.

There are plenty of people who may now wonder whether all the talk of frustration at delays is a smoke screen to disguise the fact that he simply didn't have the money. His advisers claim otherwise, saying he had provided proof of funds and every piece of paper required by Barclays Capital.

The club don't deny this, but they insist that just because he may have submitted a bid, they still have a duty to explore all the other offers on the table and that if Huang can't bide his time, then so be it.

So what happens now?

Broughton and Barclays Capital will continue to talk to those bidders still in the auction. There were said to be five last Friday so one assumes there are now four. But there are question marks over how serious they are.

The Syrian-born Canadian businessman Yahya Kirdi, the Rhone Group from New York and the Al Kharafi family of Kuwait are all said to be interested but so far we have seen no evidence of any progress with their bids.

It is known Broughton wanted to choose a preferred bidder last Friday but Liverpool were only able to issue a holding statement saying they were continuing the process and that a sale would be completed soon.

Christian Purslow, the club's managing director, went on Sportsweek last Sunday to say a deal was not close and the briefing from the club's advisers is 'don't expect anything any time soon'. Does that mean that no one wants to buy the club or is the problem that the American owners won't budge unless they get a profit from their three years in charge?

However, the clock is ticking. Hicks and Gillett have six weeks to repay or refinance their hefty loan with RBS. They are incurring hefty penalties as each month passes and they fail to agree a sale.

RBS are desperate for them to find a buyer to take on or pay off the debt while Liverpool know they risk falling further behind if this uncertainty continues.

But Broughton and Barclays won't be rushed and have repeatedly insisted they not only want to find a buyer but the right owner too.

It could be some time until that fan at Anfield has a new name to put on his shirt.

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