The Whites chairman is in the process of trying to rescue Sampdoria, who finished bottom of Serie A last season and will be relegated to the bottom tier of Italian football if they cannot pay their players by the end of the month.

Radrizzani is the majority shareholder at Elland Road and would reportedly have the same role with Samp if his consortium's "binding" bid for the club is accepted.

Radrizzani would be allowed to hold stakes in both but there has long been a plan in place for San Francisco 49ers Enterprises to increase their 44 per cent shareholding in Leeds to a controlling interest. They have an option to do so at a price thought to be in the region of £500m by January.

The value of the club will drop drastically if they are relegated from the Premier League on Sunday, but the 49ers are thought to still be interested in a buyout at a revised price.

With his potential extra commitments, that may appeal to Radrizzani.

But French sports newspaper L’Equipe claim Qatar Sports Investments are involved in the Sampdoria talks as a minority part of Radrizzani's consortium. QSI have long had a relationship with Radrizzani and have long been linked as potential investors in Leeds, and the newspaper says long-term investment in the Elland Road club is still rumoured to be of interest.

QSI own Paris Saint-German and recently took a minority stake in Portuguese club Braga. With multi-club ever more fashionable from Manchester's City Group to Sheffield's United World, they are also said to be interested in acquiring stakes in Pele's former club Santos, Malaga and an unnamed Belgian club.

Another twist in Leeds United ownership as long-term rumours of investment re-emerge