The Athletic reporter Roshane Thomas has recently shed some light on the reported West Ham United takeover bid.
According to a recent report by The Sun, David Gold and David Sullivan rejected a £350m bid from an American consortium to purchase the Hammers.
However, despite the Irons’ owners supposedly having rejected the bid, the US-based buyers have ‘vowed‘ not to give up in pursuit of owning the London club.
So, in the latest episode of The Athletic’s U Irons podcast, Thomas aired what he knew regarding the reported takeover bid for the London Stadium outfit.
He said: “Well, there hasn’t been a bid, but there’s definitely interest. When I saw the news broke [on Monday] night on Twitter, West Ham fans were like, ‘Hallelujah, our prayers have been answered.’
“Let’s not get carried away here – there hasn’t been a bid. There hasn’t been a bid and in all honesty, I reckon the board have no intention of selling before 2023.
“There’s a clause in [the lease of] the London Stadium that if the club is sold in the region between £200-300m they will have to pay, I think it’s like 12.5%.
“So, I think it’s very unlikely that they’ll sell before that year and, to be honest, the intentions of David Sullivan is to pass the club down to his sons.
“That’s his intention – to pass it down to Jack and David Sullivan Jr. So, [I] don’t see it happening anytime soon.”
TIF Thoughts…
As can be seen in what the journalist had to say, while Thomas believes that there is definitely interest in purchasing the club, he does not believe that it will happen.
Do you think David Gold and David Sullivan will sell the club before 2023?
No, they'll be staying
Yes, they'll be going
However, with The Sun having been adamant that the American consortium will not be satisfied with even a part-share in the Hammers, it will be interesting to see how the story develops.
It is also noted in the report, though, that Sullivan has insisted that he does not want to sell West Ham completely ‘for the time being’ – which is also what The Athletic reporter stated.