Daniel Levy staying at Tottenham Hotspur in the event of a successful takeover could spark further unrest among supporters, journalist Dan Kilpatrick has suggested.
Reports last week claimed potential Qatari investors looking to buy Spurs may be open to allowing Levy to retain his role as executive chairman and offering him a new long-term contract.
Kilpatrick has backed up these rumours, suggesting Levy wants to stay even if ENIC, which owns 86.91% of the club, becomes a minority shareholder, but admitted that any move to keep the 63-year-old in place could provoke a major backlash from fans.
Tottenham supporters' discontent with Levy has been growing in recent weeks, with more than 1,000 attending a protest against him before Sunday’s win over Manchester United.
Levy ‘Would Like’ to Remain at Spurs
Even if a takeover is completed
Speaking on the Rule The Roost podcast, Kilpatrick revealed that Qatari investors are indeed interested in buying Spurs, while Levy is keen to retain his position under new ownership:
“There has been interest from Qatar. And I think it is fair to say that it’s kind of well-known and well talked about that Levy would kind of like to stay on in the event of ENIC becoming potentially a minority partner.
“You know, I haven’t written that because I haven’t kind of been able to double source it. But I don’t mind saying it because it’s been reported and yeah, it’s been rumoured for a while.
“I mean, in terms of my take on that, I find it very, very interesting because I think Levy does feel like, I hesitate to say the word toxic because it might be a bit strong, but you know, obviously there’s a lot of unrest towards him by supporters.
“So it would be, it’s almost hard to imagine that a company would buy Spurs and then say we want to keep this guy who’s a kind of lightning rod for frustrations in place.”
A report from The Guardian last week claimed that prospective Tottenham buyers would be keen to retain Levy’s expertise if they complete a takeover, which could be structured as a phased buyout.
While the identity of the bidders remains unclear, it has been suggested they are private individuals rather than a government-backed group, similar to the one that attempted to buy Man United two years ago.
Tottenham have endured a disappointing Premier League season so far, winning just nine of their 25 games and sitting 12th in the table heading into Saturday's visit to Ipswich Town.
Concerns have also been growing over manager Ange Postecoglou’s future, though the Australian is expected to see out the season before any decision is made.
Sign up to The GIVEMESPORT Report to get exclusive daily updates from Fabrizio Romano, Ben Jacobs, Dean Jones and Tom Bogert sent straight to your inbox.