While City officials have made it perfectly clear they do not think much of the proposals ex-player Ray Ranson has put forward, or that he has the money to back up his lofty ambitions, Shinawatra's involvement has been welcomed at Eastlands.
Although further discussions with an American consortium who have been negotiating the potential purchase of the 29% stake chairman John Wardle jointly owns with former business partner David Makin have not been ruled out, Shinawatra now appears to be the favoured option.
And, if the current period of due diligence ends positively, City insiders are confident a deal can be struck 'quite quickly'.
City certainly do not expect Shinawatra to delay making a formal bid, as Ranson has done.
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Shinawatra is currently living in London after being ousted from office in a military coup last year.
He was first linked with the Premiership three years ago when he made a £65million bid to buy Liverpool but the club rejected his proposals.
Liverpool were also condemned at the time, by groups such as Amnesty International, for entering into negotiations with Shinawatra due to his human rights record as prime minister.
Shinawatra, a billionaire tycoon who made his fortune in telecommunications, went on to win a second term in 2005 but has been in exile since the coup.
His aides have dismissed as "politically motivated" reports from Thailand that the country's Department of Special Investigations have found evidence linking the former PM to money laundering.
If Shinawatra does complete a takeover, it would not represent good news for departed Bolton boss Sam Allardyce, who was touted as a possible replacement for current manager Stuart Pearce.
Sources close to Shinawatra say the billionaire has other plans if he does manage to do a deal - with Pearce not facing any imminent threat to his job.
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RJKS (02/05/2007 at 11:07)