Huddersfield Town fans may have been spooked into thinking Dean Hoyle is about to sell the club – by a fake Twitter account.

A message appeared on ‘Skybet transfers’ on Tuesday saying lifelong fan Hoyle was “looking to sell the club to a foreign consortium”.

While owner-chairman Hoyle was quick to tell the Examiner there was “100% no truth” in the suggestions, Skybet did some digging as to the source of the mystery message.

The company’s public relations chief Dale Tempest – a former Huddersfield Town striker – revealed the account was a fake and Skybet were contacting Twitter to get it taken down.

Hoyle is in his sixth season at the helm, during which time Town have been promoted at Wembley, established themselves against strong opposition in the Championship and developed the impressive PPG Canalside training ground off Leeds Road in Huddersfield as a legacy for the future.

The chairman – who works closely with chief executive Nigel Clibbens, Director and Head of Football Operations Ross Wilson, Operations Director Ann Hough and Commercial Director Sean Jarvis – is fully committed to the club cause and has stated previously he would consider standing aside only if the “right kind” of investor came along.

Dale Tempest
Dale Tempest

In an interview with the Examiner in November, the club backer who made his fortune in the greetings card business said he would love to be the first chairman to lead Town to the top flight since Frank Drabble in 1970, but it was becoming “harder and harder” to win promotion from a “very difficult division”.

“I’m very clear on my position,” said Hoyle at the time.

“If someone comes along who can do a better job I would not stand in their way.

“It would have to be 100%, because I don’t share.

I believe stability is needed at a football club, and I don’t think shared investment breeds that.”

Hoyle said he felt the club had made massive strides.

“The club has its stadium shares back, we have a purpose-built training complex and we have established ourselves in the Championship.

“We aim to keep moving forward, but this is a very difficult division.

“While this club might post a loss of, for instance, £2m a year, we are competing against clubs prepared to post a loss of £20m.

“I am not willing to take on that level of loss from a personal point of view – and I am not prepared to put the club in that situation.”