The future of Charlton has been thrown into doubt after Mehmet Dalman’s proposed takeover of the club collapsed.

The Cardiff chairman had been the front-runner to agree a deal with current owner Roland Duchatelet, but Standard Sport can reveal he has walked away from talks.

It is understood that Charlton’s promotion to the Championship has prompted Duchatelet to raise his asking price for the club to close to £50million.

The sheer complexities involved in the deal have also contributed to Dalman’s decision to call an end to negotiations, not least the presence of a number of former club directors — technically termed ‘debenture shareholders’ — who are owed a total of £7m should the club reach the Premier League.

It is believed several of these individuals want payment to settle the debts now as part of any takeover, with Duchatelet keen for Dalman or any other interested party to pick up the bill.

Whether Dalman can be convinced to revive his interest remains to be seen, but there are two other consortia still in the frame, one of which is led by Australian businessman Andrew Muir and Gerard Murphy and backed by investors from a number of countries.

Muir has been linked with Charlton for almost two years. He and Murphy came close to agreeing a deal with Duchatelet worth around £33m in May, but investors struggled to get sufficient funds into the country before the team won the League One Play-off Final.

Duchatelet’s asking price went up on the back of that, despite the Belgian businessman’s representative insisting at a fans’ forum in April that their demands would not change if the club were promoted.

Dalman was also ready to meet the original asking price, while the Muir consortium were not far behind, but Duchatelet’s change of heart caused the situation to drag. Furthermore, the owner’s insistence that the debenture shareholders are paid by whoever takes over remains a sticking point. The third consortium is believed to be based in Europe.

The uncertainty over the club’s future almost saw them lose what fans see as their greatest asset: manager Lee Bowyer. His future was resolved when he signed a new contract just 24 hours after the club claimed an agreement could not be reached.

Charlton this morning insisted discussions are ongoing with all three parties they have been speaking to.