Amanda Staveley's company, PCP Capital Partners, have reportedly held talks over a prospective Tottenham takeover with a loose hand-shake on terms, but there's a real problem.
Spurs supporters take aim at Lewis family reign
The patience of Spurs supporters has been stretched to its absolute limit.
Sitting 16th in the Premier League and flirting with the relegation zone, this has been one of the most miserable seasons in the club's recent memory.
The current incumbent, Igor Tudor, has openly described his job as fighting for survival in the top flight.
The squad is decimated by injuries. The performances have been wretched. A club that once played regular Champions League football under Mauricio Pochettino and reached the tournament's final in 2019 is now fighting tooth and nail just to stay in the Premier League.
Off the pitch, the frustration is just as raw.
Supporters have grown increasingly disillusioned with the Lewis family, who have held a majority stake in the club since 2001.
Spending has been inconsistent, strategic direction has been unclear, and the sense that Spurs are falling further behind the division's elite grows with every passing season.
At a club of Tottenham's stature, with a stadium among the finest in world football, the gap between potential and reality has never felt wider.
Most fans want change. They want new ownership. They want someone to come in and give this club the ambition it is crying out for.
Which is why news from Saturday afternoon felt like such a tantalising prospect — and such a frustrating one in equal measure.
A Tottenham takeover has been repeatedly mooted for years, but after sacking long-serving chairman Daniel Levy last year, the Lewis family repeatedly affirmed their goals to stay at N17 for the long run and inspire success.
The group rejected multiple approaches, like from ex-DJ and tech entrepreneur Brooklyn Earick, and from Staveley's PCP International Finance Limited and a consortium led by Dr Roger Kennedy and Wing-Fai Ng through Firehawk Holdings Limited.
However, according to journalist Graeme Bailey for TEAMtalk, Staveley's interest hasn't gone away.
PCP Capital hold Tottenham takeover talks as Lewis family stall move
Staveley, the businessperson behind the Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle United in 2021, has been eyeing a return to football.
According to TEAMtalk and Bailey, she and her husband, Mehrdad Ghodoussi, have the funding in place to make a move for Spurs — a sum believed to exceed £3 billion.
Their vehicle, PCP Capital Partners, had made significant progress in discussions with the club, and a broad agreement on terms had been reached.
That being said, the deal has apparently stalled.
The reason is the very people Spurs fans have been desperate to move on from.
The Lewis family, who inherited stewardship of the club following Joe Lewis' decision, have cold feet about relinquishing ownership.
Despite the progress made in talks, that hesitation has brought the process to a grinding halt, leaving Staveley and Ghodoussi in a holding pattern with no clear timeline for resolution as they await a positive response.
For supporters already worn down by a season they would rather forget, it is difficult news to digest.
The prospect of the duo who helped transform Newcastle — turning them into Champions League regulars with genuine investment and ambition — doing something similar at Spurs would capture the imagination.
TEAMtalk reports that if the Lewis family fail to move forward, Staveley and Ghodoussi are prepared to look elsewhere. They want top-flight football, and they will not wait indefinitely.
For Spurs fans watching their club scrapping to avoid relegation, the thought of that £3 billion walking through the door of a rival instead could be painful to contemplate.