**Portsmouth say they are close to reaching an agreement to avoid being wound up in the High Court.**The club’s lawyers have been in talks with Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs over a deal which they hope will lead to Wednesday’s action being dropped.
It is likely that a substantial part of they money owed will be paid, with the rest of the debt being rescheduled.
The negotiations came a week after businessman Balram Chainrai became Pompey’s fourth owner this season.
An agreement has already been reached with the creditors other than HMRC who have been named in the case, which relates to a reported £7.5m VAT bill.
If a compromise is reached, it is likely that a substantial part of the money due to HMRC will be paid, with the rest of the debt re-scheduled, thereby avoiding Pompey becoming the first top-flight club going into administration.
606: DEBATE
Have your say on the financial woes at Fratton Park
New owner Chainrai, a Hong Kong businessman, is looking to quickly sell the club and has no interest in the club going under as he made substantial loans to Portsmouth.
Pompey’s executive director Mark Jacob told the BBC this week that '“two or three” groups had expressed an interest to the club in taking it over.
The south coast outfit have debts of £60m and are bottom of the Premier League. They are seven points from safety, having been thrashed 5-0 by Manchester United on Saturday.
Their financial woes have meant their players have been paid late on four occasions this season.
Portsmouth are also involved in a separate dispute with former owner Sacha Gaydamak over whether they have missed a deadline in paying a £9m chunk of the £28m they owe to him.
However, it is thought unlikely that Gaydamak will take any action to push the club towards administration because to do so would not be in his best interests in terms of getting his money back.
And the Fratton Park team are being sued by former defender Sol Campbell for £1.7m for unpaid image rights.