Once valued by the APL at $15 million, a well credentialed source claims Pelligra - who last week was joined by ex-Socceroo Mark Bresciano in WA for takeover talks - could be handed the ownership for a token fee, with an ongoing pledge to fund the club by up to $4 million each year.

Already the benefactor of Italian Serie C side Catania, Pelligra is back for a second bite at succeeding Tony Sage after his initial $1 bid to rescue the club and take on its debts was rejected.

Receivers KordaMentha subsequently dumped an offer from another Melbourne property baron, Robert Brij, after the proposed sale been initially trumpeted as a done deal.

All of which leaves Pelligra as the last man standing - and a decision close, according to a well placed Perth source close to the action.

The recent upheaval within the APL - 50 per cent of its 90-strong work force axed last week in a radical restructuring of its business - has played in Pelligra’s hands, with extravagant evaluations of the club’s value cast asunder in favour of finding a credible purchaser willing to fund the club long into the future.

“There is an air of desperation now (at APL HQ) and they just want to stop the bleeding because they’ve been losing hand over fist in multiple areas,” the source told FTBL.

“A decision is very close in terms of a Perth Glory takeover - Ross Pelligra was there in the first round and offered a $1. I think the sentiment within the APL is very different now.

“My feeling is that if the Pelligra Group is genuine then a deal with happen. If they’re skirting around the issue it won’t.

“Now is their best opportunity because the APL are at their weakest point (in terms of asking price). 

“The only way forward is not by the APL extracting a significant licence fee and attempting to make a new owner pay for the sins of the past, it’s in the promotion of the club.

“That requires at least $1.5 million up front in marketing and promotion plus of course ongoing costs which I’d estimate to be around $3-4 million each season (assuming TV money via the league’s Paramount+ deal covers the bulk of player wages).

“Money needs to be blown to create hype around the club again.”

Pelligra’s Perth trip included meetings WA Treasurer Rita Saffioti and officials from the City of Stirling last week, with discussions thought to revolve around a new home for the team and Pelligra’s plan to revive a club which has been propped up by the APL since Sage surrendered the licence in July,.

Sage's 17-year ownership stretch was cut short by his inability to provide further funding.