The chances are increasing that West Ham United and Sheffield United will agree an out-of-court settlement to end their bitter dispute arising from the Carlos Tévez affair. West Ham have had access to their rivals’ financial books, giving them a good gauge of the cost of relegation.

The results showed that the Yorkshire club suffered a drop of about £8 million in income from their football activity after being relegated from the top flight two seasons ago. Overall, income fell by £12 million and ticket income was reduced by £1.5 million. West Ham will claim that the real cost of relegation is substantially less than that claimed by Sheffield United, but the picture is complicated and the Bramall Lane club will say that other factors must be taken into account.

Kevin McCabe, the Sheffield United chairman, blamed the loss of £3.5 million on their relegation — compared with a £2.7 million profit a year before — which in turn he attributes to West Ham breaching Premier League rules in their signing of Tévez, the Argentina forward. “One can only ponder as to the potential turnover and profitability that may have been achieved were it not for the circumstances and events emanating from the Tévez affair,” McCabe said. “We will simply not back down or walk away from tackling head-on those organisations responsible for the shameful actions and events that have tarnished English football.”

McCabe felt vindicated when an arbitration panel ruled that West Ham were liable to pay compensation, but it has become clear that the East London club will exhaust legal avenues to contest the ruling, delaying making payments. West Ham, who engaged Paul Chaisty, QC, and Wilson Horne, a barrister, both from Kings Chambers in Manchester, are scrutinising every element of Sheffield United’s income and expenditure to estimate the cost of relegation.

Should West Ham find justification to drive down that figure, there is a feeling that Sheffield United may be willing to settle out of court to avoid the embarrassment of compensation being significantly lower. Sheffield United have revised to £60 million their estimate for loss in income from relegation to take into account a second year outside the top flight, but that does not include costs. Compensation of between £10 and £15 million plus costs could be closer to the mark.