West Ham ponder bids from Tony Fernandes and Massimo Cellino

West Ham United's chairman, Andrew Bernhardt, was carefully weighing up the diminishing options available to the club's owner, Straumur, tonight. Bernhardt and his team recognise they have only a short time to finalise a sale of the club, since funds must otherwise urgently be raised through the transfer window that closes on 1 February. One of the bidders, Tony Fernandes, claimed publicly while en route to a conference in Luxembourg on Thursday that it is "down to two bids for West Ham". The Malaysian businessman, who said that he was heading to London after the event in Luxembourg, added the caveat that the new owner "needs total control". Fernandes appears to be the likeliest winner in the auction, since not all the indications of interest are believed yet to have become firm offers. Indeed there is evidence that David Gold and David Sullivan are unconvinced about their own chances of success. Even while in apparently advanced stages of negotiation with West Ham, the pair have maintained contact with other clubs over their possible availability. Charlton Athletic head their contingency list. Moreover, it is still unclear whether the Intermarket Group has been able to provide proof of the funding of an offer reported to be worth £100m. While doubts hang over some other bidders, it emerged yesterday that Massimo Cellino was laying claim to the biggest bid for the club. "I thought I would have everything concluded straight away; I've shown that my offer was serious," Cellino was quoted as saying by the Italian website Calciomercato. "Now there are some minor delays, they're checking the paperwork. Maybe they didn't think I would come in with the best offer." If his bid is to succeed, Cellino must first convince the consortium of five banks who are West Ham's principal creditors that he would be a sound long-term partner in the club. Meanwhile there are rumours that if Cellino's bid is successful, Zola would be dismissed. "I know that in my job you are under threat all of the time. I can only focus on the things that are under my control," said Zola. However he added: "All this talk is affecting everybody and the sooner we get it sorted the better."