4th Oct, 2021 | 10:00am

Kieran Maguire delivers emphatic West Ham takeover verdict after Sullivan reveal via BBC

PAI Capital could return to try and buy West Ham at some point in the future – but that might not be in the club’s best interests.

So says finance expert Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the latest takeover developments at the London Stadium.

As reported by the Evening Standard on 24 September, investment firm PAI have effectively pulled out of trying to buy West Ham.

They claim David Sullivan rejected a second bid to buy the club earlier this month.

Sullivan himself, however, has denied any such bid was ever lodged and gave short shrift to the London-based group throughout the saga.

Speaking to BBC Sport back in July, Irons co-owner Sullivan claimed PAI’s aims centred around “property, not football”.

The consortium had designs to purchase and revamp the London Stadium and Olympic Park.

Maguire does not rule out a second bid but claims that PAI’s emphasis on property means the Irons might be better off with the current regime.

“The one thing I know about business is you ‘never say never’,” he told Football Insider correspondent Adam Williams.

“But, just like David Sullivan said, I don’t think they had a credible offer for West Ham.

“Their objectives were more property-based than football-based. So, to a certain extent, it could have been a frying-pan-to-fire situation.

“They could have been worse off under PAI than they currently are with the current owners.”

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