Daniel Levy could be given the chance to stay on at Tottenham by a consortium seeking to buy the club. The Guardian has learned that a group of Qatari investors are willing to give Levy a long-term contract to continue running Spurs as executive chairman.

Retaining Levy would be a controversial move given the antipathy towards the chairman from many Tottenham fans, but the investors are keen to retain his expertise.

They want control of Spurs but the proposed takeover could take the form of a phased buyout. Under one model being considered by the investors, Levy would be offered a management contract to run the club, which would remain in place even if Enic, that owns 86.91% of Tottenham, becomes a minority shareholder.

Levy has been the most influential figure at Tottenham since 2001, when Enic bought 29.9% of the club from Alan Sugar before gaining full control six years later. Under Levy’s leadership Spurs’s financial position has been transformed, with the 63-year-old masterminding the building of their new stadium and establishing Tottenham as one of the richest clubs in Europe with an annual income of more than £500m.

Tottenham have been open about the fact they are seeking outside investment, with Levy saying last year that the club needed “a significant increase in its equity base”. The financial services group Rothschild has been appointed to advise on investment talks but there is also outside interest in a takeover. Sources at the club insist they are not currently involved in negotiations on a takeover.

Tottenham have been the subject of longstanding interest from potential investors in America and the Middle East, but no one has met the £3.75bn valuation.

The identity of the Qatari bidders is unclear, but the Guardian has been told they are private individuals rather than the government-backed Qatar Sports Investment (QSI) or Sheikh Jassim, who tried to buy Manchester United two years ago.

In recent years Levy has held talks with several Qatari entities without closing a deal. In 2016 Tottenham entered negotiations with QSI about a naming-rights deal for the new stadium, and two years ago QSI approached the club about a minority investment.

The former Newcastle director Amanda Staveley, who brokered the Saudi takeover at St James’ Park four years ago, held talks with a Middle Eastern group about making an offer last year. In 2023 the Financial Times reported that a bid was being prepared by the Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi.

Tottenham fans chanted “Levy out” during much of Sunday’s FA Cup fourth-round defeat at Aston Villa. For all the criticism of Levy, he has approved a £550m net spend on players since the new stadium opened six years ago.

Since 2022 Enic and Tottenham have been controlled by the billionaire Joe Lewis’s family trust, which is managed by two independent professional trustees on behalf of beneficiaries that do not include Lewis.