A deal for West Ham is cheap at half the price

Football FanCast columnist Rob Facey looks at the prospective takeover at Upton Park and wonders whether at £90m the new owners have got themselves a bargain.

West Ham are on the verge of a £90m takeover from an Asian industrial group, according to reports.

The Sunday Mirror states that the new owners could even replace Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson's group this week.

Gudmundsson's position at Upton Park has been heavily hit by the credit crunch which saw the collapse of the Iclandic bank he owned which restricted any investment into West Ham.

The CarlosTevez saga and potential pay-out that could result still lingers overthe club and the huge contracts that were handed out a few years ago have burdened the club into near stagnation.

This season their sponsor went under and at one point a relegation scrap looked a certainty, however, with a fresh £90m bid apparently on the table, it seems there is finally hope at the end of the tunnel in East London.

A 1-0 win over Man City on Sunday saw the Hammers move into seventh place in the Premier League and capped a weekend of good news for fans. And, at just £90m, the owners will be over the moon with the bargain that they are getting too.

West Ham havea bright young manager who is not afraid to try new things in Gianfranco Zola. Since his arrival along with assistant Steve Clarke, Zola has got the team playing some of the best football in the league and are fast becoming the neutral's favourites.

They also have great young, British talent including Sunday's man of the match and Welsh international, Jack Collison, and striker Freddie Sears.

Should the new owners' deal get passed before the end of the season, they will have the summer to readdress some of the faults within the club. Money must also be provided for Zola to improve the squad.

But where do they start? Should they look at the contract situation of certain players and get things sorted in-house before they start scouring the transfer market, or must they immediately compete with the new injection of cash?

Behind-the-scenes factors, such as sponsorship deals, need to be addressed and new bridges will need to be built from scratch.

It will take time but with steady investment and faith in Zola, West Ham are surely on the verge of great things.