David Sullivan is facing mounting pressure after a consortium recently linked with a potential West Ham takeover had a bid for bitter rivals Spurs rejected.
West Ham welcome Tottenham Hotspur to the London Stadium for what promises to be a particularly feisty affair this weekend.
Especially against the backdrop of planned protests by some West Ham fans against David Sullivan and the Hammers board.
Not to mention the Mohammed Kudus factor after West Ham controversially sold the Ghanaian to their fierce rivals Spurs – the first transaction between the two clubs since January 2011.
But the real story ahead of the West Ham vs Tottenham clash could be rapidly developing off the pitch.
And the development could have major implications for the future ownership picture at both Spurs and West Ham.
David Moyes made a West Ham takeover claim which now looks like a prophecy for Sullivan and co.
Fans demanding West Ham are sold after Levy’s Spurs exit
West Ham will be fired up with renewed confidence for the clash after a brilliant 3-0 win over Forest last time out while Tottenham lost at home to Bournemouth and were booed off.
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Daniel Levy has since left Tottenham ahead of the trip to the London Stadium, the former Olympic Stadium he famously fought West Ham for.
Levy’s sudden departure has given hope to Hammers fans demanding Sullivan, Daniel Kretinsky and Karren Brady leave their club.
A large number of West Ham supporters are once again mobilising to protest against the club’s ownership.
Hammers News was the first to report that West Ham fans contacted police over plans to protest in upcoming matches against Tottenham and Brentford to try and force Sullivan and co to sell the club.
Levy was only the chairman at Tottenham and has been forced out by the club’s ownership, ENIC.
But while the circumstances are slightly different, many West Ham fans believe Levy’s departure was the result of longstanding protests from Spurs fans.
There has been large-scale resentment from a section of Hammers supporters towards the owners ever since the move from Upton Park to the London Stadium.
A sustained period of regression over the last 19 months, culminating in this summer’s pleading of poverty in the transfer market due to PSR – which resulted in the ignominy of having to sell Kudus to their rivals – has brought fan anger bubbling back to the surface in east London.
West Ham have been linked with a host of takeovers in the recent past.
Consortium linked to West Ham takeover sees Spurs bid rejected
Brady insisted just a few weeks ago that West Ham’s owners are not going anywhere.
But the pressure is now mounting on Sullivan and co as a consortium linked to a West Ham takeover sees their Spurs bid rejected.
Last October Hammers News reported that a mega-rich financier had chosen between Spurs and West Ham.
After selling her stake in Newcastle, Amanda Staveley set about putting together a consortium in order to invest in another Premier League club.
West Ham’s fierce rivals Tottenham were chief among her targets, as reported by Bloomberg last year.
But a top Hammers board source claimed a Staveley-led fund could buy into West Ham instead.
Especially with the Gold family’s West Ham stake being up for sale since October 2023 and now out of probate.
Staveley ended up focusing her attentions on Spurs instead and formalised that interest with an official bid to ENIC for Tottenham over the weekend, in the wake of Levy’s departure.
It arrived alongside a rival bid from another interested party.
As well as the offer from Staveley’s PCP International, Spurs were also subject to a bid from a consortium led by Roger Kennedy and Wing Fai-Ng.
Spurs have now confirmed both bids have been rejected in an official statement on the club’s website.
And West Ham’s rivals have made it clear they have no intention of selling.
“The Board of the Club and ENIC confirm that Tottenham Hotspur is not for sale and ENIC has no intention to accept any such offer to acquire its interest in the Club,” the lengthy statement reads.
Sky Sports journalist Kaveh Solhekol claims Staveley is now expected to formally announce on Monday that PCP will not bid again to buy Tottenham.
That now presents West Ham with a massive, and potentially once-in-a-lifetime, opportunity to be taken over by owners with access to the kind of wealth needed to take the club to the next level.
Last season boyhood West Ham fan Ray Parlour urged Sullivan to sell West Ham so the club could realise its potential as a Champions League side.
There is no lack of irony that old rivals Tottenham could help finally make that happen.
With supporters pushing to try and force Sullivan and co to sell up and the links to Staveley’s PCP fund previously, all eyes now will be on whether the ex Newcastle chief – or indeed the rival consortium – turn their attention to the Hammers.
The situation could be about to get very interesting indeed.