Sources: Consortium take concrete steps to buy Tottenham as due diligence begins

MSP Sports Capital's interest in Tottenham is genuine and the private equity group is actively conducting due diligence ahead of a takeover campaign, Football Insider has learned.

MSP are also exploring the possibility of acquiring a minority stake in Everton, whose owner Farhad Moshiri is, unlike Joe Lewis and Daniel Levy at Spurs, actively courting external investment.

The New York-headquartered firm already owns stakes in clubs from Portugal, Belgium, Spain and Germany, as well as McLaren Racing and extreme sports brand X Games.

MSP's interest in Spurs was first reported by the Financial Times, who claimed the group is prepared to bid over £3.1billion to purchase the club in full.

It is believed the deal would see MSP - who are fronted by American-Iranianion billionaire Jahm Najafi - fund 70 per cent of that valuation, while financiers from the Middle East would contribute the remaining 30 per cent.

Football Insider understands MSP have now enlisted a consultancy firm to orchestrate background checks, not only into Spurs themselves but also with regard to matters of financial governance at Premier League and Uefa level.

ENIC Group have owned a controlling stake in Spurs since 2001, overseeing the move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2019.

The club have privately always maintained that they would listen to offers, although the owners are by no means proactively seeking to sell their equity.

Their revenue of £443m in 2021-22 was the ninth-highest of any club in world football.

Neil Joyce, CEO of CLV Group, told this site last Monday (20 February) that the North Londoners could earn an extra £28m per year if they further their brand further in the US commercial market.

In other news, Tottenham star Eric Dier opens talks over three-year deal