BROOKLYN EARICK will table his formal bid to take over Spurs in the next week.
Sun Sport exclusively revealed how the US tech guru will offer a world record £4.5bn package to seize control of the North Londoners.
While Tottenham and owners ENIC and the Lewis family “unequivocally” rejected the initial approach by Earick and his group of 12 investors, they left the door open for the former DJ to push on with the next stage of his masterplan.
And that will see the official legal bid put to the Spurs hierarchy in the coming seven days.
We revealed how Earick’s “Tottenham 3.0” blueprint envisages a £3.3bn up front payment for the club, with a further £1.2bn allocated for a “player budget” for recruitment, wages and agents’ fees.
Earick and his colleagues believe they have the platform to turn Spurs into a global superpower with their spending plans.
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Bid insiders say Earick has been engaged in a number of meetings with the Tottenham hierarchy, initially with former chairman Daniel Levy and club Chief Legal Counsel Katie Reid.
Those talks have stepped up in the past three weeks with direct contact with the Lewis family since Levy’s forced exit at the start of September.
In his first public comment, Ohio-born Earick posted a picture of Friday’s Sun back page story on his Instagram feed, with the comment: “Pretty low key morning so far.”
Our story sparked a response within hours from Tottenham, with a statement from the club issued via the Stock Exchange.
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Spurs said: “The Board of Tottenham Hotspur Limited is aware of recent media speculation and confirms that its majority shareholder, ENIC Sports & Developments Holdings Ltd, has received, and unequivocally rejected, an informal expression of interest in relation to a proposal to acquire the entire issued, and to be issued, share capital of the Club from a consortium led by Mr Brooklyn Earick.
“The Board of the Club and ENIC reconfirm that Tottenham Hotspur is not for sale and ENIC is not looking to sell its stake in the Club.”
In addition, a source close to the Lewis family said: “This unsolicited and unnecessary interest does nothing to change the family’s resolve and commitment to do whatever it takes to drive success on the pitch. The club is not for sale.”
The Spurs statement also referred to Stock Exchange takeover rules that require Earick to “announce a firm intention to make an offer or announce it does not intend to make an offer” by 5pm on October 24.
Earick responded by posting a picture of the home dressing room at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a countdown clock relating to that deadline.
And Sun Sport can now reveal that Earick and his backers – which include a number of wealthy businessmen with NFL and NBA backgrounds – are totally committed to completing a deal.
They are determined to push through the takeover in the shortest possible timescale and well ahead of the opening of the January transfer window.
Earick and his investors plan further talks this weekend ahead of submitting the formal bid – with the expectation that they will reach out to ENIC to see if things can be accelerated.
