LEE JOHNSON is hoping that Kyril Louis-Dreyfus’ presence at Shrewsbury Town last night is a sign that his proposed takeover of Sunderland is nearing completion.

Louis-Dreyfus sat alongside Sunderland sporting director Kristjaan Speakman in the main stand at Montgomery Waters Stadium as the Black Cats suffered a 2-1 defeat that saw them miss out on the chance to return to the play-off positions.

The Swiss trust-fund heir has agreed a deal that will see him replace Stewart Donald as Sunderland’s majority shareholder, with the takeover currently in the process of being ratified by the EFL.

The Football League’s governing body have sought financial guarantees from both Louis-Dreyfus and Donald, who will continue to hold a stake in the club, but are understood to be close to giving the change of ownership the green light.

Louis-Dreyfus’ appearance last night is a positive sign, and having held a number of discussions with the 23-year-old, Johnson is hoping for formal confirmation of a transfer of power soon.

“We’ve been in contact, but obviously I’ve been in contact with him ever since it was publicly known,” said the Sunderland boss. “I’m really looking forward to working with him.

“It’s what the club needs. It will give everybody a boost, and the quicker they can get it over the line, the better.”

Louis-Dreyfus watched Sunderland crash to their first league away defeat of the season as a goalkeeping error from Remi Matthews proved crucial.

Matthews failed to gather Donald Love’s cross, enabling Shrewsbury defender Ethan Ebanks-Landell to cancel out Aiden O’Brien’s first-half opener.

Former Middlesbrough youngster Harry Chapman claimed a winner for Shrewsbury midway through the second half, leaving Sunderland two points adrift of the play-off places in seventh position.

“Remi will be disappointed that he has made a couple of errors,” said Johnson, who recalled the goalkeeper in place of Lee Burge. “But at least he has owned up to it. He has held his hand up, and that for me is very, very important because then you can rebuild and go again.

“When I came in, I stuck with Burgey because that was the consistent thing to do – with a back four, both goalkeepers have kept clean sheets. You need a strong goalkeeper, I think your goalkeeper is a bit of a spiritual leader in terms of their presence and psychology.”

To complete a bitterly disappointing evening for the Black Cats, Jordan Willis was stretchered off with a suspected fractured patella which, if confirmed, would almost certainly rule him out of the remainder of the season.

“We lost Jordan early and it looks a really bad one,” said Johnson. “We feel for him massively. It looks like he’s ruptured his patella, which would be a bad one."