Jonty Banks

Sat 1 April 2023 18:10, UK

West Ham United are “highly unlikely” to offer the London Stadium to Chelsea as a temporary home while they plan to build a new ground on top of Stamford Bridge, according to ExWHUEmployee.

The Blues are looking to build a new £2billion stadium at Stamford Bridge and have considered the London Stadium, Craven Cottage, Twickenham and Wembley as temporary options while the construction takes place. [Daily Mail, 27 March]

The Hammers are currently the main tenants of the former Olympic Stadium venue, with club shareholder Daniel Kretinsky reportedly open to buying the stadium outright in the future. [The Times, 28 March]

ExWHUEmployee has now shared that the Hammers do not want to offer their stadium to their London rivals.

He wrote: “There has been a lot of talk from various outlets that Chelsea could move to the London Stadium when they’re working on their new ground.

“The club do not want this to happen and all I can say is that this stage it is highly unlikely.”

Pleasing

It was always going to be a touchy subject to breach with West Ham fans if Chelsea ended up playing at their homes stadium in the future.

Both London clubs have been fierce rivals over the years and seeing the Blues strut their stuff on West Ham’s turf could definitely have caused some issues within the separate fanbases.

This update shows that the club are taking a similar standpoint on the potential loaning of the stadium’s services, and it is pleasing to see.

The connection between the fans and the club’s hierarchy is a crucial aspect of the running of a football club, and the likes of Everton have shown that when this relationship breaks down, results on the pitch follow suit.

Hopefully, West Ham United will follow through with their decision not to allow Chelsea anywhere near the London Stadium, with the most obvious alternative being to play at either Twickenham or Wembley, with neither stadium used by a Premier League club on a weekly basis.