NIALL QUINN is working with a business consortium that has expressed an interest in taking charge of Sunderland.

The former Black Cats chairman has agreed to work with the consortium in an attempt to broker a deal that would see Ellis Short relinquish his control of the club.

However, contrary to reports that emerged earlier today, Quinn is not understood to have held a conversation with Short and does not intend to return to the Stadium of Light as the head of a new backroom team.

Instead, the former striker is hoping to be able to help facilitate a smooth transition from Short’s current ownership to a new set-up before returning his focus to his current business interests in Ireland.

Quinn was approached by an interested party earlier this year and asked to help prepare the groundwork for a possible bid to take over from Short.

Unlike when he put together the Drumaville Consortium that bought out Sir Bob Murray, the 51-year-old has not been asked to commit any of his own money to the proposal, which brings together potential investors from both sides of the Irish Sea.

The consortium Quinn is working with is one of a number of groups to have expressed a possible interest in taking over Sunderland, although at this stage, none have opened formal discussions with either Short or chief executive Martin Bain.

Short recently offered to give Sunderland away for nothing if a new owner agreed to take on all pre-existing debt, with the club having owed £110.4m in the most recent set of accounts which were published last April.

A new set of accounts are due next month, and are expected to show that the overall debt level has fallen slightly despite the club’s relegation from the Premier League. Sunderland banked £30m from the sale of Jordan Pickford, and have reduced their wage bill significantly following their demotion to the Championship.

They could find themselves in League One next season, and it has been suggested that Short is willing to continue funding the club’s off-field expenditure for the next two years if a new owner is prepared to take full responsibility for the footballing side of the balance sheet.

That would potentially keep the Black Cats out of administration, with the club due to receive a £32m parachute payment next season no matter what division they are playing in, but would mean a new owner effectively having 24 months in which to generate sufficient funds to pay back Short the money he is currently owed.

Quinn is aware of Sunderland’s current financial position, and will continue to act as a go-between if the consortium he has been working with opt to firm up their interest.

A hugely popular figure amongst the Black Cats’ fanbase, the Irishman became chairman at the Stadium of Light in 2006, having enjoyed a successful playing career on Wearside partnering Kevin Phillips in the Sunderland attack.

A brief spell as manager was something of a disaster, but he successfully persuaded Roy Keane to take over in the autumn of 2006. By the end of Keane’s first season in charge, Sunderland were celebrating promotion as Championship title winners.

Quinn attracted Short’s attention in 2011, and formally stood down as chairman in October of that year. He worked as director of international development for five months, before severing his ties with the Black Cats in February 2012.