West Ham have assured new manager Gianfranco Zola he will not have to sell players in the January transfer window despite another of the club's main shareholding companies heading into administration.

However, the Barclays Premier League club still cannot guarantee that Icelandic chairman Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson will not sell up in the near future.

Vice-chairman Asgeir Fridgeirsson admitted that West Ham is now one of Gudmundsson's main remaining assets after he lost an estimated £230million of his personal fortune through the collapse of Landsbanki and then suffered a further blow when Samson Holdings, another company he owns, also filed for administration.

West Ham are reportedly valued at £150million and are said to be attracting plenty of interest from prospective buyers.

And now there is further doubt over the club's future with the news that a third company, Hansa - who have a considerable stake in West Ham - have begun a similar administration process.

But Fridgeirsson insists the chairman believes there are still plenty of assets available go keep West Ham going for the rest of the year - even though the latest development, while having no day-to-day impact on the club, is "limiting his options".

He said: "West Ham is well funded for the remainder of the year and I am convinced the club will go on, no matter what.

"We are not going to sell players to settle (the) debts of Hansa."

West Ham's ownership situation is a complicated matter and although Hansa are the club's holding company, West Ham United Holdings Ltd and West Ham United plc both have a stake in the Hammers.

West Ham United plc are recognised by the Premier League as the member organisation, meaning the possibility of a football sanction such as deduction of points or relegation is unlikely to be considered due to the financial issues of the holding company.

Fridgeirsson issued a reminder that Gudmundsson has invested heavily in the club since he took over from former chairman Terrence Brown two years ago - when, at first, he put fellow consortium member Eggert Magnusson in charge but later adopted a more hand-on approach and assumed the chairmanship.

"He put £30million into the club last year, it is not a loan like some owners of clubs," Fridgeirsson said

"It was paid in as equity. It is not affecting the operation of West Ham and there is no debt within West Ham from Hansa or vice-versa.

"There is no money going from the club to the owner. It is fire-walled. The operation will go on - it is unaffected by this development."

More news from SportingLife.com