West Ham’s hopes of dragging themselves clear of the EPL relegation battle took a couple of recent knocks, literally for striker Carlton Cole, who picked up a knee injury in the Hammers’ 5-3 win over Burnley.   A Crushing defeat at home to a much-weakened Manchester United last Saturday left them one point and one place above the bottom three.   But there is better news off the pitch, with the Icelandic bank Straumur’s financial position improving, thereby lessening the necessity for a quick sale of the club or its leading players.

It has also been reported that former Birmingham City chiefs David Gold and David Sullivan have formally bid for the club, ahead of an 11^th December deadline for offers.

It was all smiles for West Ham when they went five-up at home to Burnley during their EPL encounter at the end of last month.

But Burnley’s three late goals followed Cole’s half-time replacement after suffering a knee ligament injury in an accidental clash with Burnley keeper Brian Jensen.

An initial scan raised fears that the talismanic striker would be out of action for four months. But subsequent examinations revealed that Cole will only be out for four-to-six weeks.

However, by then Cole may have moved on, with Arsenal showing a particular interest in snapping up the 26-year-old to strengthen their strike force in the January transfer window.

Manager Gianfranco Zola looks likely to be busy during the window, however. Hopes of landing Italian international striker Luca Toni look to have been dashed, as the Bayern Munich want-away has expressed a public preference for a return to his native Serie A.

But Zola has now turned his attention to striker Adriano, with the former Inter star available on a free transfer from Brazilian club Flamengo.   And Zola will have been further encouraged by the club owners’ insistence that there will be no fire sale of players during the window to deal with continuing financial problems.   Rumours that £10m-rated defender Matthew Upson would have to be sold were dismissed, which is just as well, given that Manchester United’s 4-0 win at Upton Park meant the Hammers had conceded ten goals in their last three EPL fixtures.

Meanwhile, Rothschild, the investment bank charged with bringing investment to the club, set a Friday 11^th December deadline for takeover offers.

This prompted David Sullivan and the Gold brothers, David and Ralph, to table an offer, using part of their £82m windfall from the sale of Birmingham City.

It is thought, however, that the trio’s offer of between £25-30m plus debts and liabilities, reportedly £38m, will be rejected by Straumur, the major part of the CB Holdings consortium currently running the club.

Straumur are holding out for £80m, a price the ex-Birmingham trio regard as excessive. But if Straumur are successful with this week’s Reykjavik court application for nine more months to deal with their creditors, they will be under no pressure for an immediate sale to the Golds and Sullivan, who have tabled the only firm offer so far.