TOP level talks surrounding the future of York City FC were due to be held in the city today.

The Evening Press has been led to believe the mystery Oxfordshire-based millionaire, who has already submitted a bid for the Minstermen which would keep John Batchelor as chairman, was due in York today to meet with the major players involved.

The Bootham Crescent Holdings board of directors, Persimmon Homes, club director Ian McAndrew and the administrator David Willis, from Jacksons Jolliffe Cork, were due to meet with the unnamed bidder, his advisors, Richard West, who is one of the main men behind the British Touring Car Championships and Superbike Series, and Batchelor, to discuss the finer points of the deal.

It is understood that an announcement from these talks will be due tomorrow, ahead of the annual meeting of the City ground's owners, Bootham Crescent Holdings.

It is a critical time for the club with just 18 days for a deal to be sown up to prevent the club from becoming the first professional Football League club to fold since Maidstone United.

Willis will be contacting those parties who have expressed an interest in the Minstermen, but have yet to submit a bid, to tell them that they need to put in an offer.

With only one offer on the table and the funding supplied by the Supporters' Trust running only until City's Third Division game against Hartlepool on Sunday, February 15, time is now of the essence for a deal to be wrapped up.

And while Willis is confident the one offer received can be completed in time, he has urged any other parties to get their bids in now.

The businessman-based in the north of England, who made a commitment to submit a bid, is believed to be finalising a potential offer, while the Trust are still in the reckoning to take control of the club's future.

Willis told the Evening Press: "We have spoken to the other party and they have indicated that they are still putting together their bid and speaking to the various other groups involved.

"However, we will be writing to any party who expressed an interest to tell them that they need to now submit their bid.

"The problem is that the funding will only last until February 15 and we would need a number of weeks to sort out any deal.

"With the offer we have received, we have had meetings with the Professional Footballers' Association (the players' union) and Football League as they have got to ratify any deal because they have to safeguard the future of York City.

"But we hope that the deal would be completed before February 15."

Willis added that there was still no time-scale for the bid from the Northern-based businessman, saying: "They are doing all the groundwork before putting in a bid rather than the other way around."

It is understood the backers of this particular bid have identified their prime venue for a potential new ground for the club after travelling to York yesterday to review possible sites.

Willis also believed the third mystery party, which was revealed in the Evening Press back on January 18, were no longer interested, while despite the claims he might return with a bid, Scarborough businessman Jason Van Der Sarr was no longer a contender.

Updated: 11:49 Tuesday, January 28, 2003