News that Newcastle Jets owner Martin Lee is negotiating to sell the club is unlikely to be a prominent talking point in the corridors of power, considering the multitude of crises they have been attempting to resolve in recent months.

Individual club issues would seem well down FFA's list of priorities at this point in time.

But history would suggest that FFA will eventually have to turn their attention to the prospect of the Jets changing hands for the fifth time since the A-League's foundation season, and it would be naive to assume the process will be completely devoid of drama.

In an ideal world, it would be no more complicated than Lee agreeing a price for his franchise and exchanging contracts with the proposed buyer, an unnamed Sydney businessman.

But there are boxes that need to be ticked before any transaction is approved.

In particular, FFA need to conduct due diligence on the proposed owner to assure themselves he is a fit and proper person to run a franchise, and this is where it all starts to become slightly problematic.

As Tinkler and Palmer showed in dramatic fashion, vast personal fortunes - or the illusion of vast personal fortunes - don't necessarily guarantee anything.

In both cases, it seems FFA were guilty of assuming two men who had no background in sporting administration would be capable of running a franchise, simply because of the perception they could afford it.

With the benefit of hindsight, it would be fair to say Palmer and Tinkler are exactly the type of people FFA should be giving a wide berth. Whatever cash they pumped into their clubs was offset by the embarrassment they caused the code.

At least the Jets survived after Tinkler placed them into voluntary administration, millions of dollars in debt, following a four-year reign of error. Palmer's Gold Coast United are long since defunct.

But the failure of Tinkler is a reminder of the dilemma FFA face as Lee attempts to offload the Jets, for whom he paid a $5.5 million franchise fee four years ago.

After Tinkler's demise, FFA assumed interim ownership of the Jets for 12 months, a stopgap measure that reportedly cost them more than $2 million.

The alternative was to allow Newcastle to fall by the wayside and join the Gold Coast, North Queensland Fury and New Zealand Knights in the A-League graveyard.

As former A-League champions representing a traditional footballing heartland, the Jets were too valuable to write off.

So the FFA sucked it up and paid the bills until Lee, the founder and chairman of a leading Chinese LED lighting company, stepped into the breach.

But even the arrival of Lee was as much a case of good luck as good management.

He was offered the licence virtually by default, after FFA's first choice, Stephen Thompson - chairman of Scottish Premier League outfit Dundee United - was unable to produce the necessary deposit by the agreed date.

If all of the above creates the impression that FFA might not be great judges of who is a fit and proper person to own an A-League franchise, it perhaps should also be pointed out that beggars can't be choosers.

FFA have never been flush with cash and, post-coronavirus, their budget is likely to be even tighter.

Six years ago the governing body reluctantly propped up the Jets.

Now they might not be in a position to provide such a safety net, not least because of the precedent it would create.

So FFA find themselves between the devil and the deep blue sea. Due diligence is well and good, but it would not appear in their best interests to scupper the potential sale of any franchise.

All of which brings me back to Lee, who has spent an estimated $15 million since taking charge of the Jets. For his outlay, he has endured a rollercoaster ride from afar, delivering a wooden spoon, a grand final, and a couple of seasons in between.

Despite turning over five coaches in four years, his tenure represents the most stable period in Newcastle's A-League history, and perhaps much of the credit for that should go to unflappable CEO Lawrie McKinna.

Not once in Lee's time has the Newcastle Herald reported about players not being paid, which is more than can be said of previous owners.

Now, amid unprecedented financial circumstances around the globe, Lee has realised owning a football team is an expensive hobby.

He perhaps regrets knocking back the $12 million he was offered for the Jets last year. Good luck to him if he can do better than that.

At least Lee, unlike Tinkler and Con Constantine before him, looks set to walk away on his own terms.

Yet I still firmly believe that the Jets are a juggernaut that has never been properly harnessed. This region has a proud footballing history and should surely be able to support an A-League franchise capable of at least breaking even.

Perhaps all it needs is the right person at the top. Over to you, FFA.