Will we see a minority purchase or a full takeover?

Levy did not explicitly say whether Spurs were seeking minority or majority investment, only that the club “requires a significant increase in its equity base.”

Liverpool and Man United sold minority stakes to Dynasty Equity and Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS in recent months,with wildly different results in terms of the amount of power each yields at the respective clubs.

Before they pivoted to Everton, the US group MSP Sports Capital had a concrete interest in a full takeover of Spurs, going as far as to enlist consultancy firms to conduct due diligence.

Maguire believes that both a full and partial takeover are on the table.

“I think everything is in play,” he said.

“Spurs are very attractive. I think the big issue is that ENIC have a majority stake Levy would want to continue to be chairman should a new owner come in.

“This is the same issue with Steve Parish at Crystal Palace. They don’t want to give up the power.

“There is certainly interest in Spurs. They are a fantastic proposition. You don’t have to spend anything on infrastructure – the stadium and training faculties are there, both of which are magnificent.

They’re in London, which makes them attractive to American and Middle East investors.

“If the number is right, then you could see a majority stake being sold. But I think Levy’s ego and the fact he is a genuine Spurs fan might prove to be a stumbling block.

“That is unless you have some sort of caveated arrangement like we have at Man United, whereby someone has a minority stake but with a parallel contract that gives them a significant power.

How much are Spurs worth?

Ultimately, football club value is subjective and determined by how much the market is willing to pay.

However, analysis from industry authorities like Forbes and Football Benchmark have speculatively placed Spurs’ enterprise value at around £2.6bn.

Looking at the club’s annual revenue, Maguire concurs, citing Liverpool’s deal with Dynasty Equity for perspective.

“Recently, we’re seeing value determined by multiples of revenue. For the elite clubs, it’s probably in the region of five to seven times revenue.

“Spurs have revenue of £550m, so five times that gives us a figure of £2.75bn.

A ten per cent stake would be somewhere around £275m, £300m. That’s around what FSG got for Liverpool in their deal with Dynasty Equity.

Who could buy Spurs – private equity?

Whenever a takeover of a Premier League club is on the agenda, the same few names continuously crop up. And with good reason.

The level of wealth and commitment that a multi-billion-pound takeover requires is enormous, with only a handful of investors reaching the threshold.

Spurs is a capital appreciation project, making the club enticing to one group of investors in particular who believe that there is huge untapped value in Premier League teams: US private equity groups.

As well as MSP Sports Capital, US company Liberty Media, who are the most valuable sports group in the world, have been linked with a Spurs takeover – albeit loosely.

So, could Spurs strike a deal with a group from this market? Maguire believes it is a distinct possibility, although it might not be the most attractive option for Spurs fans.

“In terms of private equity, I can understand the attraction of Spurs. It’s the best run club financially in the Premier League in terms of cost control.

“That comes at a price in terms of achievements on the pitch. Would that bother private equity? No.

At the same time, Spurs have made fairly significant losses in recent years, and that has to be addressed at some point.

“Although in PSR, they are in the clear because the losses are offset by infrastructure spend.

“My issue with private equity is that I’m not sure how well it would go down with the Spurs fanbase.”

“They’re looking for a fiscal return on investment. And that fiscal return on investment is not necessarily going to involve major success on the pitch.

“Success will be measured by qualifying for the Champions League. It depends whether Spurs are willing to accept that. Based purely on their budget, that is them punching at their weight.