Is rapper Jay-Z on track for Spurs swoop?

MUSIC mogul Jay-Z is preparing to bid for Tottenham Hotspur if the club's owner is convicted of fraud and insider trading, according to a close business associate.

- Mike Parker

The rap icon, 53, who is worth in excess of £1.95billion, is backed by a group of US investors who are waiting in the wings to learn the fate of Spurs supremo Joe Lewis.

The move comes 13 years after Jay-Z expressed interest in becoming a major investor in North London rivals Arsenal.

He revealed he had become a huge fan of the team then led by his favourite player, Thierry Henry.

That bid fell flat but Jay-Z, already a joint-owner of top NBA basketball team New Jersey Nets, insisted at the time: "I don't know a lot about the business of soccer but in future, if the right opportunity presented itself, then who knows?"