Joe Lewis ‘will sell Tottenham’ in £4.5bn deal as fresh announcement made
Joe Lewis will not rule out selling his majority stake in Tottenham, despite rejecting all proposals so far.
The British businessman has had control over the Lilywhites since 1991, but has faced almost constant pressure to sell up in recent years.
Lewis-owned ENIC rejected a takeover proposal for Tottenham last month, with the Lewis family keen to keep hold of their prized asset.
Executive chairman Daniel Levy was dismissed by Spurs at the start of September, with the departure prompting rumours of a change in ownership.
Despite more than 24 years in charge of sporting decisions, Levy was not even allowed to retrieve his possessions from Spurs, indicating a clear fallout within the board.
Simon Jordan insists Tottenham sale still possible
On Thursday, Tottenham announced that ENIC have injected £100million of new capital into the club, further confirming their commitment to the North London club.
The new investment has been made with “long-term sporting success” in mind, according to an official club statement released on Thursday.
| Premier League | Club value |
| Manchester United | £4.9bn |
| Liverpool | £4bn |
| Manchester City | £3.9bn |
| Arsenal | £2.5bn |
| Tottenham | £2.4bn |
But questions persist over Tottenham’s future, with prospective buyers continuing to sniff around the North London club.
Simon Jordan has suggested that Lewis could still sell Tottenham in the coming months, despite re-affirming his commitment.
Asked about the investment, the former Crystal Palace chairman said: “It will find its way into the team somewhere along the line.
“I mean £100m, with all due respect, in the Premier League, isn’t a huge amount of money. Clubs who are getting promoted are now spending £100m. So it’s a nice little announcement, it’s positive, it reinforces the idea that they’re not for sale.
“Everything is for sale. If someone comes knocking on Spurs’ front door and wants to pay £4.5bn, then Joe Lewis will sell it.
“I’m sorry, I don’t care about the protestations. But notwithstanding that, it’s good noise, it’s good news.“
Could ENIC investment represent power struggle?
Spurs spent around £170m on seven new players in the summer, with much of the funding presumably coming from qualification to the Champions League.
And there were fees to pay in the dugout too, Ange Postecoglou would have required a pay-off when he was dismissed, and Spurs agreed a fee to take Thomas Frank from Brentford.
But, according to BBC Sport, much of the incoming money came from ENIC itself, who are said to have kept a closer eye on operations.
With Thursday’s announcement also seeing new investment from the owners, and the dismissal of Levy, it would appear that the Lewis family are attempting to win back the support of the fans.
Only those inside the club will know what has prompted the change in attitude, but one would guess that perhaps discontentment has started to arise within the club’s senior management.
Discontentment can lead to issues, and issues could well lead to the sale of Tottenham.
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