Nasib Piriyev - the man who is trying to front a bid to take over West Ham United - has suggested that he could target Derby County and Hull City of the Championship if his attempts to purchase the London club fail.

Piriyev heads up PAI Capital, who submitted a bid to take the Irons away from David Sullivan and David Gold and promised a £150 million cash injection for the club.

Ultimately though it was rejected due to West Ham's current standing in the game, with Sullivan and co not wanting to sell with the club in the UEFA Europa League.

Whilst Piriyev is still actively trying to reach a breakthrough with the Hammers, it may ultimately come to nothing and even though he has his heart set on them, the Azerbaijani has hinted that he could shift his attentions elsewhere in England.

And specifically he has name-dropped two clubs who are longing for takeovers in the Rams and the Tigers as potential destinations.

"West Ham is close to my heart and is still going to be number one on my priority list and it is a beautiful and amazing club and it is a great opportunity and there is still so much to be done," Piriyev told The Athletic's podcast, via the Derby Telegraph.

"If we look at any other club it would be a more pragmatic and business approach and it would be a smaller club.

"There are a few that are struggling, interesting opportunities around Derby and Hull who you can buy and bring up and there is so much going on.

"We feel there will be some shifts in the industry and there will be new pockets of profits potentially available for these clubs.

"It depends on the situation, and it depends on the assets that are there in the financial situation but of course it is easier to buy something that is distressed, turn it around and create value rather than buy something at its peak."

The Verdict

This is an interesting development and it's certainly a new name to add to the mix to not only the adminstration-stricken County, but also Hull.

There has been considerable interest from Turkish businessman Acun Ilıcal but as of yet that has come to fruition - the Allam family will likely sell if they get an offer they think is acceptable though and considering the promises Piriyev has made to West Ham he could really turn Hull's fortunes around.

But he could also do the same at Pride Park, although there seems to be multiple strands of interest when it comes to Derby.

Multiple parties have shown proof of funds to access the club's financial records and that gives a strong indication that there are serious candidates already who could take over at County, but the proof will be in the pudding as Wigan Athletic found out recently that it can take a long time to flush out the chancers to find someone serious.