Tottenham CEO insists club not for sale after Levy exit

Tottenham chief executive Vinai Venkatesham insists the club's owners intend to continue their "firm backing" of the Premier League side after Daniel Levy's shock exit.

The north Londoners released a statement on Sunday to make clear the club is not for sale after reported interest from Amanda Staveley, with two approaches "unequivocally rejected".

Tottenham's ownership situation has become a hot topic since executive chairman Levy stepped down on Thursday after majority owners ENIC reportedly told him it was time to leave.

But Venkatesham, who has taken the reins after Levy's departure, said: "The Lewis family are really clear. They see their involvement in Tottenham as being long term. They see it continuing through the generations.

"We made a statement which I hope was unambiguously clear, that Tottenham Hotspur is not for sale."

Levy's 25-year stay at the club ended following a season in which Tottenham finally won a trophy for the first time in 17 years after lifting the Europa League, but also recorded their worst top-flight finish since 1976-77.

Under Levy, the club underwent heavy infrastructure changes including the financing and construction of a new 60,000-capacity stadium and state of the art training ground.

Venkatesham said that the succession, which involves board member Peter Charrington taking over as non-executive chairman, is in hand as they seek to build on victory in the Europa League final in Bilbao in May.

"The club is well organised for succession," he said. "We have a very strong executive team in place. Whilst it might seem like a slightly strange thing to say to the external world, though it's big news, inside the club it really is business as usual.

"This is a new era for the club, under new leadership, completely backed by our majority shareholder the Lewis family. We can feel optimistic and ambitious for the future as well.

"We saw in May in Bilbao what the next step is. It's competing for and winning major trophies. We've had a taste of that."

One of the principal frustrations felt by supporters towards Levy was a perceived lack of investment in the squad, something Venkatesham said is high amongst the club's priorities moving forward.

"It is fair to say we have firm backing from the Lewis family against our ambitions to be successful," he said. "They know that's going to require investment. But like all 20 Premier League clubs we need to make sure we are cognisant of financial fair play rules. 

"That means we need to continue to grow our revenues, we need to continue to develop players from the candy and players we buy, we need to make sure we're selling players at the right time, and we need to make sure we're making smart decisions."