By Mark Murphy

Portsmouth’s protracted takeover saga, which has occupied the entire close season, will be over “within days”, according to UAE property developer Sulaiman Al-Fahim.

Al-Fahim has been undertaking ‘due diligence’ at the cash-strapped Hampshire outfit since he was revealed as prospective owner before May’s Champions League Final.

The process – a forensic examination of club finances – has severely hampered Portsmouth’s preparations for the new season, which starts in five weeks.

There has been a player mini-exodus from Fratton Park this summer, with only Glen Johnson’s £17.5m move to Liverpool impacting upon Portsmouth’s mountainous debts.

And caretaker manager Paul Hart, who oversaw Portsmouth’s first pre-season training session at Pompey’s Eastleigh base this week, also faces an uncertain future.

Al-Fahim is expected to appoint a high-profile name to replace the 56-year-old Hart, who remains officially Portsmouth’s Director of Youth Operations.

Former Internazionale boss Roberto Mancini was linked to the role this week after reports that he and Al-Fahim had held discussions in Paris.

The on-going state of limbo has also made transfer targets of high-profile members of last year’s squad.

Talismanic striker Peter Crouch, who top-scored for Pompey with 11 Premier League goals, is an £11m+ target for Steve Bruce’s Sunderland. While captain Sol Campbell’s contract talks have stalled, alerting numerous clubs to his potential availability.

Previous owner, Franco-Russian businessman Alexandre Gaydamak, funded his three-and-a-half year tenure by excessive borrowing, mostly from Barclays and the South African Standard Bank.

Bank loans rose to £44m in the wake of Pompey’s 2008 FA Cup triumph. And Chief Executive Peter Storrie has admitted: “We lived beyond our means.”

The sales of Lassana Diarra and Jermaine Defoe for £35m+ in the January transfer window did little to ease financial worries, which prompted Pompey’s search for new ownership.

Al-Fahim’s bid has been dogged by controversy from the outset. One of his spokesmen this week told the Portsmouth News that while the takeover looked imminent: “The doctor is disappointed with third-parties outside the deal, causing problems for political reasons.”

However, much of the criticism has stemmed from apparent inconsistencies in Al-Fahim’s own statements.

Even the title “doctor” used by his spokesman this week, had to be disowned after it was revealed that the American University Al-Fahim attended does not award doctorates.

There have been conflicting reports about the financial backing for the deal. Sulaiman Al-Fahim originally announced that Swiss-based investment fund Falcon Equity had raised finances from “Asian and Middle East investors.”

But when this sparked rumours of the involvement of former Manchester City owner Thaksin Shinawatra, Al-Fahim announced that his personal investment vehicle, Al-Fahim Asia Associates would be raising the money.

The deal now provides the first test of the league’s new “fit-and-proper-persons” regulations, introduced on July 1, which require public disclosure of investors with stakes over 10%.

This process could delay Al-Fahim’s takeover beyond July 21, when Portsmouth are due to begin their pre-season friendlies schedule at non-league Havant and Waterlooville, before heading to Portugal for games at Benfica and Guimaraes, one of their UEFA Cup opponents last season.