Chinese link to Latics

Athletic chairman Simon Corney

ATHLETIC are courting investment from millionaire Chinese businessman Martin Lee, the Chronicle can reveal.

The president of Shenzhen-based firm Ledman Optoelectronics and his associate Philip Chu were guests of the board at the club's home game against Peterborough.

Chairman Simon Corney, who recently travelled to China in a bid to find investors, sat with the duo in the North Stand for the 2-0 win over Peterborough in a game that attracted a crowd of 7,224 thanks in large part to a free-entry scheme.

Corney has met the pair on a number of occasions prior to their visit to this country and on the night before the game entertained them at Manchester restaurant and noted footballer hangout San Carlo.

However, the Chronicle understands that talk of any potential deal is still very premature.

Athletic's directors are mindful of previous potential overseas investment that has not come to fruition and are keen to play it cautiously.

Bizarrely, the club's hopes may have been given a boost by Paul Scholes.

The Manchester United legend was at SportsDirect.com Park on Tuesday to present a training session to the youth team as part of his UEFA 'A' Licence.

He was introduced in person to the duo, who are believed to be Manchester United fans.

Lee took over as chairman at A-League club Newcastle Jets in the middle of last year as his Ledman group bought the club for around 5.5m Australian dollars.

"I understand that the Newcastle Jets are a very important part of the Newcastle community," Lee said at the time of the deal.

"I want to work closely with everyone in Newcastle - the members, fans and the local football community, to make this club the best it can be."

Ledman, manufacturers of LED perimeter advertising boards as used in the Premier League, own Chinese club Shenzhen Renren FC and are an official sponsor of the Chinese Super League.

The firm are also title sponsors of the Portuguese second division and that deal hit the headlines through a stipulation, later scrapped, to oblige the top 10 clubs to field Chinese players.

Athletic have been seeking out investment for some time and last summer, managing director Anthony Gee told the Chronicle that there would be a careful vetting process.

"At the end of the day, this club geographically is very attractive to people as Manchester is a huge football heartland," Gee said.

"But as Simon (Corney) has always said, it has to be the right person or the right group to take the club forward.

"There is always interest from the Far East. They are football crazy. But it needs shrewd people with football brains and it's not easy to come in to a club they don't know of previously."

It is 13 years since Athletic were rescued by Corney, Simon Blitz and Danny Gazal when their buy-out lifted the club out of administration.

Blitz and Gazal have since cut ties with the club, but retain an interest in landlords Brass Bank Ltd.