By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)
It’s been fascinating to watch the fallout following yesterday’s Sky News revelation that Amanda Staveley is looking to buy Vanessa Gold’s 25% stake in West Ham United.
Claret & Hugh spoke to a club source yesterday evening who was keen to stress that The Times follow-up article, suggesting negotiations were at an advanced stage, was wide of the mark and that Sky’s reporting was much closer to the truth.
Either way, it’s clear Staveley has designs on owning a stake in West Ham and, with Daniel Křetínský’s ownership plans still incomplete, it has created a huge amount of uncertainty. As I wrote earlier, a swift Staveley deal could even prove to be the catalyst for West Ham’s transfer activity.
Křetínský has created this uncertainty
At this stage, the Czech billionaire could have nobody but himself to blame.
Back in June, the newly assembled West Ham board confirmed on the club’s official website that Křetínský would acquire part of Vanessa Gold’s shareholding and become the club’s largest shareholder.
Nearly seven weeks have passed since that announcement and nothing has happened.
Factor in the disappearance of the much-discussed cash injection, together with West Ham’s failure to sign a single player so far this summer, and it’s easy to see why supporters are beginning to ask questions. As I argued previously, the emergence of Staveley could fundamentally alter Křetínský’s long-term ambitions at the club.
That may prove to be completely unfair. Křetínský may yet complete the transaction exactly as originally planned.
But in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, people are naturally going to speculate.
The clock is ticking
Some suggested last night that the Czech businessman would not appreciate this kind of speculation while attempting to complete his own takeover plans.
But there would be no story if the share purchase had already been completed, as many interpreted from June’s announcement.
One thing, however, appears increasingly clear.
If Staveley succeeds in buying the Gold family’s 25% stake, it would almost certainly end any realistic prospect of Křetínský becoming West Ham’s dominant shareholder. That’s particularly significant given the well-publicised difficulties surrounding any potential deal involving David Sullivan’s shares.
Of course, it’s also possible the latest reports are designed to put pressure on Křetínský to finally complete his purchase.
I sincerely hope that’s not the case.
After all, do we really want owners taking control of West Ham because they’ve been backed into a corner?
The next few days promise to be every bit as fascinating as they are revealing.
If Staveley’s interest is delaying Kretinsky’s share purchase and cash injection, then we may not have enough free cash to buy anyone. I watched the highlights of the Leeds game again today and we looked fairly poor with Fernandes, Wilson and Summerville. I dread to think how we will cope with out replacements for them.