THE man heading up the takeover of York City Knights has broken his silence - and says he is "extremely excited" about the future of the club.

Sports management consultant Jon Flatman, who has previously worked with Hull FC, Wakefield and the Rugby Football League, has confirmed reports in The Press that he is fronting the consortium looking to begin a new era for rugby league in the Minster city.

He would not verify who else was involved behind the scenes but Flatman did state they had agreed a deal to take over all of outgoing owner John Guildford's "shares and associated shares" in the club. The Press believes Featherstone Rovers chairman Mark Campbell is a key backer.

It is also thought that the takeover is dependent on City of York Council giving the green light to continue playing at Bootham Crescent as part of its community stadium project, and on a compensation package being continued to cover the losses from no longer having Huntington Stadium.

Flatman would not comment on these matters, but he told The Press: "We're in discussions with various parties and we can confirm an agreement is in place for the proposed transfer of all shares and associated shares from the current owner, John Guildford, to myself and the new consortium.

"As is now public knowledge we are putting in place the final pieces of the jigsaw with City of York Council.

"We envisage it to be a smooth transfer.

"We're just ensuring at the moment that the legalities and contracts are dealt with correctly to ensure the best future for the club - the club being the fans, the players, the coaching staff, and the commercial and community partners.

"We're extremely excited about the future for York City Knights and we look forward to working in partnership with all parties to deliver a rugby league club the city of York deserves."

The Rugby Football League have not publicly given a deadline for the takeover to go through in time to reinstall the Knights into the 2017 fixture list as the 16th team in Kingstone Press League One, nor has Flatman issued a time limit on proceedings.

However, the effective start of the rugby league season - when player contracts and clubs' financial years begin - is usually December 1, and that might be a target date.

Head coach James Ford has already begun a recruitment drive, with provisional player contracts set to be rubber-stamped once the proposed takeover is completed and the club gets the go-ahead to rejoin League One.