American-based businessman Daniel Williams has confirmed takeover talks with Blackburn Rovers.
But he is adamant he is serious about trying to buy out the Walker Trustees, who currently own 99.8% of the club.
He told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph: "We are at the very, very early stages of any kind of process.
"We've had a very good dialogue with John Williams (chairman) and his vice-chairman, David Brown, but a lot of what has been written is exceptionally premature.
"The whole thing about a deal being imminent and a price being agreed just isn't the case.
"I certainly haven't seen anything in the way of due diligence and we haven't formally made an approach.
"It's very much at the conversational stage at the moment."