Source: Daily_Mail
David Sullivan and David Gold complete £105million takeover at West Ham
The protracted West Ham ownership saga was concluded on Monday night after David Sullivan and David Gold finally pushed through their takeover.[LNB]The pair have sealed a deal worth £105million for 50 per cent of the club and will take on their debts.[LNB]Manager Gianfranco Zola will be given a chance to prove himself to the former Birmingham City owners, who have promised to invest in the squad before the end of the month.[LNB]Click here to read Neil Moxley's lowdown on Sullivan and Gold's stint at Birmingham Done deal: Former Birmingham City owners David Gold (left) and David Sullivan (right) have completed their takeover of West Ham United[LNB]Strengthening West Ham's threadbare attack is the priority and money is available immediately to fund moves for Manchester City's Benjani and Monaco's Eidur Gudjohnsen.[LNB]Sullivan and Gold will also push ahead with plans to relocate from Upton Park to the Olympic Stadium after the London Games in 2012.[LNB]Key to the relocation plans is the appointment of Karren Brady (right) as vice-chairman. Sullivan will assume the role of chairman and Gold is expected to take a seat on the board.[LNB]The deal was struck late last night after a day of tense negotiations. Malaysian businessman Tony Fernades is understood to have run Sullivan and Gold the closest, although the InterMarket consortium also spent the day in talks with West Ham's corporate brokers Rothschild.[LNB]Fernandes posted a Twitter message, saying:: 'Deal lost on West Ham. Hopefully new owners protect what's good. We gave awesome deal and new ideas to rejuvenate a club andbring excitement.'[LNB]Sullivan and Gold appear to have been the most serious bidders all the way through the complex process and were the first to put hard cash on the table.[LNB]The news that his job is safe will come as a major relief to Zola, as former Manchester City manager Mark Hughes had been hotly tipped as the man the new owners wanted to revive West Ham's fortunes.[LNB]Click here to read Martin Samuel's exclusive Sportsmail interview with Karren BradySuch was the level of speculation about Zola's future on Monday that bookmakers stopped taking bets on him becoming the next Barclays Premier League manager to lose his job.[LNB]But now the uncertainty has been resolved, Zola has an opportunity to concentrate on ensuring West Ham's Premier League status. They are currently in 16th place.[LNB] Backs to the walls: West Ham are in a relegation fight[LNB] Hammers D-Day for Gold and Sullivan as takeover at Upton Park edges closerTHE MIDLANDER: Goodbye but not good riddance to Sullivan and BradyEXCLUSIVE: Karren Brady on why England MUST host 2018 World CupZola facing the axe from West Ham's new ownersZola questions his own ability to save West Ham from the dropTakeover saga is affecting the team, warns West Ham manager ZolaWEST HAM UNITED FC
