ASSEM Allam could be about to relinquish his hands-on role as Hull City chairman, the Mail understands.
Although the new Premier League season is still less than a month old, speculation is mounting that the 75-year-old is about to bring his direct involvement with the club to an end.
Although no-one at the Tigers was available for comment yesterday, more clarity on the situation is expected inside the next 48 hours as the club are preparing to make an official announcement – the exact subject of which is being guarded closely.
However, it is no secret that Dr Allam has been left a frustrated figure since the FA's decision not to allow him to re-name the club as Hull Tigers back on April 9.
He is also known to have felt let down as long ago as November 23 last year when campaigners against the proposal paraded a 'No To Hull Tigers' banner around the East Stand of the KC Stadium in a 1-0 defeat by Crystal Palace.
Having previously promised to " walk away within 24 hours" if his name change plans did not come to fruition back in April, it is believed he opted to stay on for the last four months so he could oversee the most successful era in City's 110-year history.
That eventually saw manager Steve Bruce take the club to a 16th-place finish in the top flight as well as a first-ever FA Cup final appearance, which secured European football for the first time.
With the pressure on to recruit new players in a bid to build on those achievements this season, Dr Allam again chose to remain at the helm to bring off-field stability and only last week he oversaw a transfer deadline day which saw four internationals arrive at the KC Stadium .
However, with the Tigers now out of Europe and the transfer window closed until January 1, the Mail has learnt that the timing may now be right for him to step down and end his hands-on involvement.
When buying the club back in October 2010, Dr Allam stated it was his desire to preserve the football club for the local community which led to him ploughing in £30m of his own money almost overnight to write off debts.
Since then he has taken his spending nearer to the £100m mark, taking City from the brink of administration in the Championship to European football and another crack at the Premier League.
Although fans will obviously want to know who is going to own the club and be in charge of it, the Mail is currently not in possession of this information.
One possibility is that Ehab Allam will take sole responsibility for its running and ownership, having acted as chief executive since the exit of managing director Nick Thompson back in December.
However, it would probably now also be very easy for the Allams to find an interested buyer after assembling what looks to be the club's strongest-ever squad and with the club seemingly at the peak of its powers.
