Reading are in danger of being blocked from entering the Premier League if they secure promotion this season, it can be revealed.

A proposed Chinese takeover of the club was provisionally cleared by the English Football League last week with businessman Dai Yongge and sister Dai Xiu Li given permission, subject to certain conditions, to buy the Championship promotion-chasers following an EFL board meeting on Thursday.

Yongge failed to acquire Hull City in September amid serious concerns from the Premier League about the way the proposed takeover had been structured.

And although it is understood the deal for Reading has been structured differently – in a way that appears to have satisfied the EFL – the Premier League will not disregard the consortium’s failure to satisfy its misgivings about the doomed Hull buyout during any assessment it conducts of the new owners.

That could lead to the unprecedented situation of a club being denied access to the Premier League if they secure promotion.

Reading, who have been in talks with the Chinese-based consortium since November, are on course to reach the Championship play-offs and will doubtless be seeking clarity on their future before the end of the regular season.