A leading football finance and governance expert has claimed Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky is now a ‘likely buyer’ for a full takeover of West Ham United.

Speculation has been rife about a West Ham takeover for several years and now there has been an intriguing twist.

West Ham majority stakeholder David Sullivan and vice-chair Karren Brady are under huge pressure to leave – especially in the wake of club record £104m losses in the latest accounts.

West Ham’s second biggest stakeholder, the secretive Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, has also come under fire for his role in the club’s regression over the last two years.

Kretinsky set for West Ham takeover U-turn after expert’s claim?

Kretinsky has remained very much in the shadows at the London Stadium and has only publicly discussed his involvement with the Hammers three times in four-and-a-half years.

With his net worth standing at over £13bn in latest public records, Kretinsky certainly has the funds to take over West Ham if he so wished.

Would you take relegation if it meant that David Sullivan would leave?! 🤔

Not a nice position to be in – but what would YOU choose if you had to?

But in a TV interview back in the Czech Republic two years ago, Kretinsky played down talk of a full Hammers buy-out.

Now there may have been a big West Ham takeover twist as Kretinsky is named as a ‘likely buyer’ by a leading finance expert.

Kretinsky became West Ham’s second biggest stakeholder behind Sullivan when he purchased 27 per cent of the club in November 2021.

There had already been speculation for some time that Sullivan and the Gold family might sell their stakes in the Hammers – particularly after the embarrassment clause in the club’s anchor tenancy deal with the LLDC officially expired this time last year.

That was before the club’s fans ramped up the pressure by embarking on a season-long campaign of protests to force Sullivan and Brady out.

Now it seems there may yet be hope Kretinsky has been biding his time to launch a full takeover at the London Stadium.

Paul Quinn, a football finance and governance expert, made the claim when discussing West Ham’s dire finances with The i Paper.

Mega rich Hammers fan Tabor ‘unlikely to buy West Ham’

Quinn played down talk that mega rich Hammers fan Michael Tabor could buy the club given his reported involvement in a company that has been loaning West Ham tens of millions of pounds.

Quinn also stated that West Ham fans have every right to expect the current owners to put their hands in their own pockets to address the situation.

Good idea or is all hope for an atmosphere lost anyway?

“I very much doubt it (that Tabor would buy West Ham) to be honest,” Quinn said.

“A likely buyer would be Daniel Kretinsky who is already a significant (West Ham) shareholder.

“If I was a West Ham fan I would be asking why are shareholders incapable of or unwilling to fund the losses caused by the poor business and football decisions they have made. If they are not willing to fund the losses or find an executive team to turn the club around, the only option is to sell to owners who can.”

The closest West Ham have come to a takeover during Sullivan’s reign has been a genuine offer from Red Bull.

Rumours of Middle East and US interest have been widespread, especially since Vanessa Gold put the Gold family’s 25 per cent stake up for sale in October 2023.

There was talk of potential interest in West Ham from US bidders at the end of last season – but none of it has come to fruition, much to the frustration of Hammers fans who feel their club has so much untapped potential.

Whether Kretinsky feels the same remains to be seen.