Wigan Athletic fans given takeover warning

That's the view of investigative journalist Martin Calladine, who remains utterly unconvinced the 21-year-old soft drinks 'entrepreneur' would ever pass the Owners and Directors' Test - the so-called 'fit and proper person's test'.

Few if any Latics fans would have heard of Johal prior to Monday morning's shock revelation that he was the 'prospective new buyer' for Latics.

However, he has been on the radar of Calladine - and Morecambe fans - for several months, following his ongoing attempts to gain control of the Shrimps.

And having so far failed to convince the governing body of his credentials to take over Morecambe - with questions still remaining over the source and size of his wealth - Calladine sees no reason why it should be any different now he's set his sights on Wigan.

"I've been tracking him for a little while, and he's one of these people who, the moment you look in, raises so many questions that you're suddenly very interested in finding out more," said Calladine, author of 'The Ugly Game' and co-author of 'Fit And Proper People'.

So should Latics fans be worried?

"I think so," Calladine opined. "From what I understand about his businesses, there's no real evidence - from publicly available findings - he has the kind of money to buy and run a club the size of Wigan Athletic.

"The fact he has not been able, for whatever reason, to pass the Owners and Directors' Test at Morecambe for five or more months - which is unprecedented in my experience - means I think it's highly unlikely he'll be able to buy either Wigan or Morecambe.

"Given both clubs are facing financial challenges, any delay in getting a new owner in, who has the necessary money to take either club forward, must be a bad thing."

While waiting to have his takeover of Morecambe rubber-stamped, Johal has been putting money in for the day-to-day running of the club.

"He has put in money over the last few months to help pay wages, in return for an equity share," Calladine explained.

"Under EFL rules, you can't take on more than 10 per cent of a club without facing the Owners and Directors' Test.

"So although we don't know how much he's put in to Morecambe, it must be a very small share, certainly less than 10 per cent.

"The flip side of this is, were he to somehow pass the Owners and Directors' Test at Wigan, he would not have to relinquish any shares in Morecambe, because there would be no conflict under EFL rules.

"That wouldn't be an impediment to him taking over at Wigan.

"The main impediment would be passing the Owners and Directors Test."

So why would Johal, who was born in Gravesend but is now based in Solihull, want to buy either Latics or Morecambe.

"I have no idea why someone like that would wish to buy a football club," replied Calladine, who says he’s made repeated attempts to contact Johal for comment, without success.

"He doesn't give public interviews. And although he spoke with the Supporters Trust at Morecambe, it doesn't sound like he was able to give them a convincing explanation of why he wanted to buy the club.

"Wigan is obviously a more famous club than Morecambe, but he doesn't appear to have any affiliation to them, and they also have massive financial challenges.

"No-one I've spoken to has any idea or knowledge of why he'd want either club.

"He might only be 21 but, if he's the businessman he says he is, he must be aware neither of those clubs are what you'd consider to be a profit-making machine in the short or medium term."