There is a ‘Mexican stand off between the West Ham owners’ claims a football finance expert after another Daniel Kretinsky twist.
Talk around Kretinsky’s stance at West Ham is flip-flapping more than Ronaldinho in his prime.
Will he or won’t he is the big question in the background at West Ham right now when it comes to Kretinsky and the answer seems to change like the wind.
Last month marked the one-year anniversary since Czech billionaire Kretinsky became West Ham’s second biggest stakeholder.
The “Czech Sphinx” paid a reported £150m for 27 per cent of West Ham last November and it was predicted his arrival would allow the Hammers to go bigger and better than before in the transfer market.
That certainly proved to be the case during an unprecedented summer which saw West Ham spend £170m on signings.
Kretinsky has repeatedly been linked with an eventual full takeover of West Ham (The Evening Standard). And there has been speculation for years that David Sullivan and David Gold would sell their stakes in the Hammers in 2023.
Any sale by Sullivan and Gold before March 2023 would incur a cost as part of the deal which saw West Ham move from Upton Park to the London Stadium.
It was agreed that if Sullivan and Gold sold the club for more than £300million before that date, 20 per cent of any profit would go to the ground’s landlord, the London Legacy Development Corporation.
After West Ham’s summer splurge, ex Premier League club owner Simon Jordan said he believed the ambitious spending was a clear sign Kretinsky was preparing for a full takeover.
Some West Ham fans were disappointed recently, though, when an insider with close links to the Hammers boardroom insisted the club ‘will not be taken over in April as many have been expecting’.
That came after Kretinsky had already made his stance over a Hammers takeover perfectly clear.
Then it was reported that Kretinsky had performed a big U-turn on a full West Ham takeover and was in fact keen to become chief shareholder and thus gain a controlling interest in West Ham.
Now things appear to have changed yet again according to Price of Football’s Kieran Maguire.
There is a ‘Mexican stand off between the West Ham owners’ claims the football finance expert after a new Kretinsky twist.
Less than a week after club insiders claimed Kretinsky is eyeing full control, the website Football Insider claims the opposite is the case.
“A West Ham source has told Football Insider that the 47-year-old’s cash is currently tied up elsewhere and he has no immediate plans to up his stake in the club,” Football Insider states.
And Maguire believes Kretinsky is very much playing the part of a minority shareholder in the background at West Ham.
“Kretinsky’s investment and management style tends to be that of a minority shareholder,” Maguire told Football Insider.
“He lets the existing management of a company get on with things. Only if there is noticeable underperformance does he start to voice his concerns.
“So, while there does appear to be a bit of a Mexican stand-off taking place between Kretinsky and the Gold and Sullivan stake, I don’t see there being any boardroom disputes.”
Maguire added that he believes the West Ham owners will watch the goings-on at Man United and Liverpool – who have both been put up for sale – before deciding what to do with the Hammers long-term.
Last month Hammers News reported on how the Glazers may have wrecked West Ham’s takeover dream following links to a billionaire with a net worth double that of Kretinsky, Sullivan and Gold combined.
MORE WEST HAM NEWS
Clueless Hugh gets it embarrassingly wrong over West Ham star.
Coufal shares tear-jerking Ronaldo video on social media.
Rice praised by all and named one of three best as England crash out.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
