Stefan Borson: West Ham to match Wrexham as O'Neal talks open

West Ham could be looking to replicate the recent success Wrexham have achieved in building their brand after holding talks with Shaquille O’Neal about taking a stake in the club.

That is the view of finance expert Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider it would be interesting to see what impact the former basketball star could have at West Ham after Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have helped raise Wrexham’s profile in North America.

Reports have suggested O’Neal is in talks about taking a stake in the Premier League club and investing some “serious money”.

David Sullivan currently holds a 38.8 per cent share in West Ham, while Daniel Kretinsky owns 27 per cent and Vanessa Gold’s stake is worth 25.1 per cent.

Since Hollywood stars Reynolds and McElhenney took over Wrexham in early 2021, the Welsh club have achieved two promotions and their online presence has grown significantly on the back of their ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ documentary on Disney+.

Shaquille O’Neal could improve West Ham profile in North America

Although Borson questions whether a similar level of success could be achieved at a bigger club, he believes someone like O’Neal could potentially help improve West Ham’s standing in North America if he is properly engaged.

“It’s hard for us to always know exactly the impact these sorts of figures have in building fanbases abroad,” Borson told Football Insider.

“For example, how many fans will Birmingham have on the back of Tom Brady?

“I think Brady was basically given the shares for free on the basis that it drives engagement in Birmingham. Does it really? I don’t know. I suspect it’s not dramatic.

“Clearly, everyone has looked at Wrexham and thought ‘Can we replicate them with a bigger club?’.

“I think it’s not very straightforward to do what the guys have done at Wrexham. They are experts at driving social media content. They did the deal with Disney on the documentary and it’s so far been a massive win.

“I’m not sure whether they have actually monetised in a material way any of that fanbase that they have built off the back of it.

“It will be interesting to see whether a massive celebrity sportsman at a big club like West Ham could move the dial if he was properly engaged and was prepared to be the face of it in North America.

“It could work, but it’s not clear that it would work. They don’t need his money, it’s about branding.”

In other news, West Ham fear star player could push for summer exit.

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