On the day that Great Britain’s Rio Olympic heroes returned home to universal acclaim, an altogether different side of sport was playing out in a conference room at Oakwell, the home of Barnsley Football Club.

Patrick Cryne, the owner of the 129-year-old club, had agreed to meet a representative of a Far East company looking to invest in football, together with the club’s manager, Paul Heckingbottom, and assistant manager, Tommy Wright.

As pleasantries were exchanged, Mr Cryne and the two coaches introduced themselves to a female representative of the Far East firm, as well as Dax Price and Francesco Marroccu, consultants to the firm, and Mr Marroccu’s “translator”, Joseph.