Sunderland have reached an agreement on a takeover bid fronted by former striker and Ireland international Niall Quinn, the club announced this afternoon.

Quinn flew into the north-east last night after he and his backers agreed a price with former chairman and major shareholder Bob Murray last week.

The offer will be 117 pence for each Sunderland share, valuing the club at approximately £10m. Murray, who stood down from his post on Friday, will receive around £5.7 million for his 56.8 per cent stake in the club.

Quinn said: "I am personally delighted, on behalf of my consortium company Drumaville (a company newly incorporated by Quinn and the consortium members), to be in a position to present this offer to the shareholders of SAFC. We believe this heralds a new beginning for Sunderland, but it's only going to happen if everyone comes together in a joint effort.

"My consortium are buying into the wonderful potential at the club and wish to help enable it to regain the status it truly deserves," he added.

The remaining shareholders will have three weeks to make a decision on whether or not to sell their shares to Drumaville.

Sunderland and Quinn announced in March that they were in talks after Murray revealed he had been looking for a potential buyer for more than a year.

He later admitted he wanted to stand down in October 2002 when he dispensed with the services of then manager Peter Reid, but stayed on to help the club out of the financial mess in which it found itself.

The Black Cats remain around £40 million in debt - and it is understood that will not be paid off immediately under the new regime - but have stabilised their off-the-field position over the last three years.

This stability, however, suffered last season as Sunderland were relegated from the Barclays Premiership after just one season with a record low points total of 15.

Mick McCarthy paid for that dreadful form with his job in March, and his position remains unfilled.

Senior members of Quinn's consortium are thought to want a big-name manager in place before they would commit themselves, with Martin O'Neill topping their list.

With the start of the new Coca-Cola Championship season less than five weeks away, no appointment is imminent.