Right slap bang in the final week of preparations for West Ham’s season opener in the Carabao Cup next weekend, the tabling of Amanda Staveley’s bid for 25% of the controlling shares in West Ham United has the potential to be hugely distracting at a time when everything should be focussed on events on the pitch.
By launching what is, in effect, a hostile takeover bid just eighteen days before the Championship gets under way, Staveley’s consortium risks unsettling players, management and fans even as the first signings are, reportedly, close to completion.
Staveleys bid for Vanessa Gold shares has thrown the club into boardroom turmoil just ahead of the Championship season
Fans have already joined the dots and started asking the same question:
With the boardroom locked in an impasse for at least the next two months, what happens to the transfer budget and the funds that have been freed up through player sales?
Can West Ham actually sign any players before the 2nd September closure of the window?
Claret and Hugh spoke to a source this evening within West Ham for clarification and received the following unequivocal response:
“Please reassure supporters that none of this affects the transfer budget and [player] moves, inbound and outbound, are still being made as before’.
Which will come as something of a relief with the boardroom locked in a tug of war for the future of the football club which looks to be months, if not several months, away from any resolution.