Tottenham Hotspur are receiving genuine interest from the Iranian billionaire Jahm Najafi, however, Joe Lewis has a much higher valuation for the north London club.

What’s the latest on the Spurs takeover rumours?

On Wednesday morning, reports emerged following Tottenham’s Champions League defeat to AC Milan that there may be fresh interest coming from the 60-year-old.

The report from the Financial Times suggested the billionaire is set to launch a $3.75bn (£3.1bn) which would see MSP Sports Capital put forward around 70 per cent of the funds with the further 30% coming from the Middle East.

And it is believed $3bn (£2.5bn) of that could be offered with the remainder being added to the north London club’s debt.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the reliable Alasdair Gold has claimed this reported interest is genuine but there may need to be an increase in the reported figures if it is to tempt Lewis into selling the club:

“From what I understand, I think the interest is genuine, not that I’d ever doubt the Financial Times – obviously, a very respected newspaper, or media outlet. So yeah, that does seem to be genuine.

“Neither side have commented publicly in any way. But those I’ve spoken to inside Spurs, there’s a denial that any approach has been made.

“From what I understand – and this is something I’ve heard for the past six months to a year, I’d say – is the value that people within the club, those around Joe Lewis, they think, internally, the valuation is maybe even beyond £4bn, which is $4.8bn.”

What would a takeover mean for Spurs?

Since the reports emerged on Wednesday, outlets such as Sky Sports News have reported the club are not actually up for sale at this moment in time.

However, that is also caveated by the following comments where reporter Kaveh Solhekol said the club would be sold if the right offer was to arrive.

And it has been suggested over the last year that Spurs have knocked back a takeover proposal believed to be worth in the region of £3bn.

But there has also been a narrative that the club are now nearing their peak value and this is the point in time where the club could be made available for sale more than any time in ENIC’s time in north London.

At the age of 86 years old, there will be natural questions about where Lewis sees his future at the helm of the club and whether it could be time for him to potentially look to pass the club on.

However, he could well have plans in his mind to pass the club down to his family despite the reports suggesting there is interest in potentially purchasing the club.

There have now been numerous parties believed to have shown an interest in possibly purchasing Spurs now since the turn of the year.

With this in mind, it will be interesting to see whether any official bids do get lodged and how they will be assessed by the current Spurs owners.