West Ham owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson is facing increasing pressure to sell the club.

The Daily Mail says Samson Holdings are understood to have filed for bankruptcy in a country in economic meltdown following the global financial crisis, leaving it highly unlikely that the financially-stricken Gudmundsson can afford to hang on much longer to the Barclays Premier League club.

Gudmundsson, who bought West Ham for £85million and has invested a further £30m, has seen his considerable fortune evaporate by an estimated £230m in the credit crunch.

West Ham had been insistent after the Landsbanki crash that it would not affect the club's future as Gudmundsson had plenty of personal wealth outside his stake in the bank. But the same confident noises over Gudmundsson's long-term ownership of West Ham are no longer emanating from Upton Park as the Iceland financial scenario worsens by the day.