West Ham owner David Sullivan has revealed the Hammers have been approached by many 'weird and wonderful people who lack the funds' to buy the club and you suspect Mike Ashley is bracing himself for fresh enquiries of this sort after Newcastle United's arbitration hearing was delayed.
A joint statement by the Magpies and the Premier League on Monday confirmed that issues with the disclosure of evidence had resulted in the main hearing being put back until early 2022.
Ashley has previously vowed to fight 'tooth and nail' for the Saudi-backed bid - even launching a separate Competition Appeal Tribunal claim - and it is hard to necessarily see that stance changing despite this delay.
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The Newcastle owner's desire to sell the club to a group who will take the Magpies to the next level has been doubted in the past, but the billionaire has previously told interested parties he needs 'a buyer with deep pockets'.
It begs the question: will a serious alternative buyer emerge during a pandemic who could meet Ashley's asking price in one hit? Amanda Staveley, herself, has said that 'our transaction doesn't stop anyone else coming in', after all.
In an interview with ITV Tyne Tees earlier this month, Staveley said if a 'great buyer' could come in with 'deep pockets' and 'transform the region', she believed Ashley would 'do that deal'. However, the financier also warned that there 'just aren't a huge amount of buyers that are available'.
Ashley knows that more than most after witnessing a host of parties struggle to raise the funds required to take Newcastle off his hands in recent years.
Few high-profile takeovers have since taken place during the pandemic but former Queens Park Rangers chief executive Philip Beard's consortium made an informal approach to buy West Ham in February
Sullivan claimed the offer was 'derisory' and said the group 'never produced any proof of funds', 'were looking to raise funds to do the deal' and 'at no time did they mention any money being available for new players'.
The 72-year-old added that he felt it was a 'property not a football deal' and the 'vague proposal was not in the best interests of West Ham, its shareholders or supporters'.
"We have no desire to sell the club but get approached by many weird and wonderful people who lack the funds and have no experience in running a football club," Sullivan said.
"Mr Beard did a truly exceptional job at QPR working with Tony Fernandes. Having done so well there he no doubt wanted to repeat the success at West Ham."
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