Charlton and an Australian consortium interested in buying the club have released a joint statement.

It was hoped a takeover, led by Aussie businessman Andrew Muir, would be completed before the start of pre-season, but that is looking increasingly unlikely.

Unpopular owner Roland Duchatelet has started making decisions for the upcoming season including Lee Bowyer remaining as caretaker manager.

The statement reads: “Charlton Athletic can confirm that it is expecting a takeover of the club to be completed by a select group of investors linked to The Australian Football Consortium.

“The group has a significant interest in the long-term prosperity of the club and is committed to seeing the deal go ahead.

“Understandably, negotiations of this scale take time due to the enormous amount of due diligence that goes on behind the scenes, the need to satisfy the regulatory complexities of a football takeover and the challenges of assembling an ownership group.

“The current ownership would like to assure the club’s supporters that the running of the club will remain its priority throughout this process. The club’s management team are focused on the club’s operations, and Lee Bowyer and his staff are continuing their preparations for the upcoming season.

“We will provide a further update when further developments are made. In the meantime, thank you for your continued support.”