West Ham chairman Eggert Magnusson is preparing for a legal battle should the club be docked points by the Premier League.

Argentine duo Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez joined The Hammers in August in a deal which initially raised hopes of UEFA Champions League football, but could now threaten the club’s Premiership status.

The Argentine duo were brought to West Ham by businessman Kia Joorabchian and his investment company MSI, who effectively owned the two players.

Now there is a distinct possibility that the club will be docked points by the Premier League as regulations prevent the signing of players who are owned by a third party who could have the ‘ability materially to influence a club’s policies or the performance of its teams’.

West Ham are now anxiously waiting to discover their fate but new owner Eggert Magnusson may decide to launch a lawsuit if the club is hit by a points deduction, as the deal transpired under the regime of former chairman Terence Brown.

A similar happening took place in the 1990s when Sir Alan Sugar successfully argued that Tottenham’s 12-point penalty for making irregular loan payments should be cancelled by the Football Association because the ‘crime’ took place under the guidance of previous owners.