West Ham Court Rival Bidder

Today's Guardian claims that the West Ham board could be close to a deal with the consortium that is rivalling Kia Joorabchian's bid.

The paper claims that,

"£70m would be made available for the shares, exclusive of the club's £20m-plus debt, with more set aside for team strengthening. That package matches Brown's ambitions personally and for the club. He will also be encouraged by the fact that the new group has been represented by keen West Ham supporters and would not initially seek to replace the manager Alan Pardew, who remains popular at boardroom level."

The Guardian says that West Ham have been in talks with the second consortium for over a month and appear to be satisfied that they have the necessary finances for the deal to progress.