15 February 2023 , 13:23
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Billionaire Jahm Najafi is being linked with a £3.1billion takeover bid for Tottenham.
The Iranian-American tycoon is putting together a consortium to make an approach for the North London club as they line up an offer to try and tempt owner Joe Lewis and chairman Daniel Levy into selling.
However, Tottenham have insisted there has been no approach or contact. Levy has always rebuffed approaches in the past and, while several big Premier League clubs are looking for investors, there is nothing to suggest Spurs are actively looking to sell.
Businessman Najafi - who is chair of MSP Sports Capital - wants to buy a Premier League club and they have also had an interest in Everton.
Najafi, who co-founded MSP with former sports agent Jeff Moorad, was even pictured at Goodison Park amid suggestions that Everton’s majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri is ready to sell.
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But no bid has materialised for Everton, although the club is in a state of disarray because they are battling against relegation, are desperate to avoid the drop ahead of a move to a new stadium and the current board have had to stay away from home games because of security fears.
However, there is some scepticism as to why a consortium’s attempts to buy one of English football’s biggest clubs in Tottenham has become so public when successful takeovers are normally done in top secret.
Jahn Najafi is set to launch a bid to buy TottenhamThe Financial Times revealed Najafi’s interest in Tottenham but the price would also seem remarkably low considering that Levy oversaw the £1billion development of the club’s state-of-the-art stadium which is arguably the best in Europe.
They have also spent huge money on the training ground, are in the Champions League and are also entering a new phase of the club’s development.
Tottenham own huge areas of land around the stadium which they are looking to redevelop and transform the local area with new housing, industry, leisure projects and other developments.
That is at the heart of why Tottenham have been courting potential investors rather than takeover bids but it would take a mega offer to make them consider anything else. A Qatari consortium was recently linked with an investment but again Spurs dismissed reports of a potential takeover.
Sources suggest they are focused on developing the club - not selling it and especially after putting so much recent work into the project.
Tottenham remain one of the Big Six and, while fans often get frustrated with Levy and a lack of success, the current ownership remain committed to building the club, transforming the area and also delivering Champions League football and trophies on a regular basis.