Tottenham Hotspur's potential takeover by former DJ Brooklyn Earick looks less likely to happen as one of his hopeful chief investors has pulled out of a deal.
Last month, the football world was shook when it emerged that Earick was looking to purchase Spurs from the current ownership. His approach came shortly after long-serving chairman Daniel Levy left the club, leading to speculation surrounding a future takeover.
Earick has insisted that he is more than just a mere 'tyre kicker' and would be able to stump up the funds to purchase Tottenham when the time came. To do this, it is believed that the American has approached a number of wealthy individuals to join his consortium.
One such businessman was believed to be Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team owner Dan Gilbert. However, it appears that Gilbert has withdrawn from the process.
After contacting Gilbert's sports and entertainment group, Rock Entertainment, The Telegraph were told: "Rock Entertainment Group is constantly evaluating opportunities – both domestic and international – that strengthen our position as a leader in sports and entertainment. Recently, this included the review of a major UK-based sports property.
"After careful review, we elected not to pursue this opportunity." The loss of Gilbert will be a huge blow for Earick as he is worth a cool £21billion alone.
It is also understood that Earick and Gilbert have no affiliation beyond this proposal despite the former posting a picture of himself in a Cavaliers' hat on Instagram. Earick does reportedly have 12 investors signed up to join his takeover bid of Spurs.
However, he only has until October 24 to launch his bid officially or else the bid will be dismissed entirely. Even if the funds for the Spurs takeover are fully financed and presented to the club, it seems at this stage the ENIC Group are not interested in selling.