Journalist Darren Lewis has tipped West Ham United to buy real quality if  Daniel Kretinsky ends up purchasing a 27% stake in the Hammers.

The Lowdown: Kretinsky eyes Irons stake

Over the past few days, it has emerged that the Czech investor is interested in buying a 27% stake in the east London club (via The Guardian).

As of yet, however, there has been no official comment from the club or from the businessman himself.

The Latest: Big times ahead

Speaking to Sky Sports' Super Sunday Matchday (via Hammers.news), Lewis predicted big times ahead for the Irons as he discussed the possibility of Kretinsky investing in the club and the subsequent potential for lucrative signings in the January transfer window. He said:

"What it does, it provides the ability for West Ham to go into a transfer window where they are going to look at quality, rather than making up numbers, with a degree of confidence.

"He (Kretinsky) is a guy who is very canny with his investments, he’s got other business interests as well outside of football.

"He’s generated a lot of optimism within the West Ham fanbase because they’re feeling now that with a guy like that coming into play suddenly they can start to think about the club matching David Moyes’s ambition…

"Now what the new investment enables them to do is go into a transfer window looking to attract – and they will be able to attract – the kind of quality player that will hopefully take the club to another level."

The Verdict: Wait and see

Of course, the rumours that there could be a new investor at the club will surely have delighted many West Ham supporters. David Gold, David Sullivan and Karen Brady, are the current owners, and it is fair to say they are far from popular among many Irons fans.

Worth €3.4bn (£2.9bn, via Marca), Kretinsky is not quite on the level of Roman Abramovich or Sheikh Mansour, for example, but fresh impetus and points of view may be exactly what West Ham need to move to "the next level", as Lewis put it. Should the deal go through, it promises to be an exciting time ahead for the Hammers, who are already flying as it is.

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