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West Ham takeover talk has “cooled” with the club in relegation trouble and there is “doubt” over whether Daniel Kretinsky will be interested if the club go down, The Guardian reports.
The Czech billionaire currently owns 27% of the shares and has an option to complete a full buy-out at a set price, if David Sullivan, and the family of the late David Gold were willing sellers, which is not certain.
But with David Moyes’ side in significant danger of falling into the Championship the chances of him assuming full control in that event are unlikely.
Jacob Steinberg reports in The Guardian: “The Czech billionaire agreed an option for a full takeover at a set price when he bought his shares. He has first option on Sullivan’s 38.8% stake and second on Gold’s 25.1%.
“But he cannot proceed unless Gold’s family and Sullivan are willing sellers and West Ham’s struggles this season have cooled talk of a takeover.
“David Moyes’s side are a point above the bottom three and there is doubt over whether Kretinsky would want to increase his shareholding in the event of relegation.”
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No surprise
It’s one thing to buy a Premier League football club with all the money-generating possibilities that brings, but a very different one to buy a club that has to spend just to gamble on getting back there.
The current side have disappointed all season despite a heavy summer transfer spend and the addition of Danny Ings in January.
The players appear unsuited to Moyes’ style, or the manager seems unsuited to oversee the plan they were brought to carry out.
Either way the form has been a major let down and the Scot is under a lot of pressure to even keep hold of his job until the end of the season.
If West Ham don’t stay in the top flight they are likely to remain in stasis in terms of the ownership situation as enthusiasm will to invest, from everyone, will dip.
The expectation had been that once the clause in the London Stadium deal, that would have penalised Sullivan and Gold if they sold, had passed it would open the door for Kretinsky.
But that clause lapsed this month and instead the club look further away than they have been in some time from settling their long-term future at the top.