Newcastle's former co-owners lead consortium to buy stake in West Ham

Amanda Staveley, the former co-owner of Newcastle United, is leading a consortium that has entered discussions over acquiring Vanessa Gold's 25 per cent shareholding in West Ham.

Her husband, Mehrdad Ghodoussi, is also part of the group, which has shown strong interest in completing the purchase.

Talks have progressed considerably over recent weeks, with Staveley understood to have lined up international backing to finance the deal.

The Hammers were relegated from the Premier League at the end of last season, and it was towards the close of that campaign that the consortium first began exploring the possibility of investing in the east London club.

TRENDING

Stories

Videos

Your Say

The group's ambitions extend beyond the initial quarter stake, with an openness to purchasing additional shares that would give them a controlling interest in the club, according to the BBC.

David Sullivan and Daniel Kretinsky remain West Ham's principal shareholders at present.

Staveley is no stranger to high-profile takeover bids, having been part of a separate consortium that pursued the acquisition of Tottenham Hotspur during the previous campaign.

She and Ghodoussi ended their involvement at St James' Park in July 2024, when they sold their shares and departed the Tyneside club, freeing them to explore fresh opportunities in English football.

LATEST SPORTS NEWS

• FA release statement following UEFA's decision to boycott FIFA World Cup
• Future of football World Cup plunged into chaos as Uefa announces plan to boycott tournament
• Gianni Infantino warned to ‘seriously backtrack’ to avoid football ‘civil war’ after UEFA boycott

Sullivan stood down as the club's joint chairman in June after a joint investigation by BBC Panorama and the Times newspaper examined his conduct.

The 77-year-old "categorically" denied all of the claims made against him after seven women alleged Sullivan engaged in sexually exploitative and predatory behaviour.

In a lengthy statement, Sullivan described the claims as "factually incorrect and entirely false".

He stated he had "not been provided with any proper explanation as to how these individuals or their claims were independently verified or assessed for credibility prior to publication," and he believes "the entire process has been fundamentally unfair and completely lacking in any due impartiality".

The Independent Football Regulator responded by contacting West Ham regarding what it described as "extremely serious allegations," stating that it was seeking "urgent information" about Sullivan's fitness for his role.

Sullivan stepped down from his role at West Ham in order to "apply my full energy and attention on fighting these false allegations".

West Ham head into next season with their captain, Jarrod Bowen, committing his future to the club.

The Hammers have been desperate to keep Bowen, who scored 11 goals and registered 12 assists last season.

West Ham were relegated last season on the final day, after Tottenham did what they required to stay up by beating Everton.

They will be looking to bounce back in their upcoming campaign, currently sitting as favourites to go up

Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter