In the last few hours, The Chronicle’s James Hunter has shared a positive twist directly from Stewart Donald after the shock news this week that the Madrox group still own the majority of the shares at Sunderland.

The Lowdown: Chaos at Sunderland

The Black Cats have been in perilous form on the pitch of late, with Lee Johnson being shown the door after a 6-0 thrashing by Bolton Wanderers.

Mike Dodds’ interim time in charge did little to lift spirits, losing back to back matches against Doncaster and Cheltenham, while Alex Neil’s debut game in the dugout was hardly inspiring, grabbing a point in a 1-1 draw with AFC Wimbledon.

If things are chaotic on the pitch however, there aren’t even the words to describe the mayhem off it, with news emerging this week that the Madrox trio – Donald, Charlie Methven and Juan Sartori - still own 59 per cent of the club to Kyril Louis-Dreyfus’ 41 per cent.

The Latest: Another twist

Hunter though, sharing his latest piece for The Chronicle, has shared the latest twist in the ordeal, and it’s some rare positive news for the Stadium of Light faithful.

Speaking on his personal Twitter, Hunter says the ‘key thing is SD now says he’ll sell at same level he accepted initially’.

Hunter believes that Donald and Co. were likely hanging on initially with the hope of an increased price for the rest of their shares, but that has now changed and they are ready to let go and offer KLD the same deal as before.

As the tweet was a reply to a fan just this afternoon (12:24pm), it has gone under the radar, with only 19 likes from Hunter’s 18,000 followers.

The Verdict: Finally...

At last, some good news for Sunderland fans.

The Black Cats have been through immense turmoil in the last few years, and these last couple of weeks have just been the icing on the cake, with sackings in the dugout, embarrassing results damaging their promotion push and now Madrox’s return to the headlines.

However, if KLD can secure the rest of the shares, or at least enough to become the majority owner, at the same price as his initial 41 per cent buy, then that can only mean good things.

Yes, the 25 year-old has hardly been perfect during his time in charge, but it’s impossible not to wonder if his hands have been tied by only owning less than half of the club, and simply ridding Wearside of the likes of Donald and Methven is a win in itself.