Ex-Spurs Scout: ‘No smoke without fire’ as Tottenham takeover rumours swirl
Tottenham News is delighted to welcome aboard our brilliant new columnist Bryan King, the former goalkeeper who spent six years as a senior scout at Spurs and 28 years in total in first-team scouting roles. Bryan also spent eight years on Everton’s recruitment team and 11 years scouting at Aston Villa across two different spells.
Ex-Spurs scout Bryan King believes there is “no smoke without fire” and claims investors must see the “potential” in a takeover of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.
Amid recent news that Sheikh Jassim had pulled out of the race to buy Manchester United, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe now expected to acquire a minority stake with a view to a potential future takeover, rumours surrounding Tottenham’s ownership situation began to swirl, (Football London, 17 October).
However, reporter Ben Jacobs shared via his official X platform (17 October), that Sheikh Jassim and his Nine Two foundation are not currently considering the purchase of another club.
Nonetheless, that hasn’t stopped speculation, and ex-Spurs scout King told Tottenham News he believes Spurs would be a very lucrative investment.
“When you look at the takeover of Manchester United, I can’t see where Sir Jim Ratcliffe is going to make all these radical changes, he will only have 25 per cent. He has really just become a redundant 25 per cent shareholder.
“If I was him and there was a chance of a 100 per cent takeover with a club like Spurs, I would certainly have pushed for that. Tottenham would certainly cost less than Manchester United, and in addition to that, at United, you need to improve the stadium first and foremost because there has been a lot said about the issues with the ground, whereas Tottenham already have the best stadium in the country.
“It is a venue which is built to host three events: concerts, NFL fixtures and Premier League football matches, so it would be a very good investment for anyone who did come in.
“After seeing the NFL game at Tottenham on Sunday 15 October, it was a full house, the ground was well-received, could that tempt an American to want to come and invest in Spurs?
“Either way, whether a potential takeover offer arrives from America or maybe the Middle East, people must be looking at Tottenham and seeing the potential there.
“There is certainly no smoke without fire. The question for ENIC is would they want to sell the whole club, or perhaps just a portion of the club? Either way, Tottenham would be a very interesting proposition if it became available.”
In other Tottenham news, one Spurs defender is optimistic he will be available for the club’s next match after a recent injury scare.