This comes unexpected, but mayor Boris Johnson is in talks with NFL over a potential tenancy deal. Despite talks being at an early stage, they’re described to be encouraging. Well, not for West Ham, who remain the preferred bidder at this point.

Last weekend saw St. Louis Rams and New England Patriots playing in front of packed Wembley Stadium. It was then that mayor Boris Johnson got engaged in talks with NFL over possible tenancy of the Olympic Stadium.

According to Goal.com a deal wouldn’t mean a permanent franchise, or at least not from the start. But it might be that up to 10 NFL games per season would be staged here in London, at the Olympic venue.

The news comes unexpected since NFL hasn’t been part of the bidding procedure, which saw only four entities interested in taking over the stadium. West Ham remain the most likely future tenants, with others being Leyton Orient, a football college and a consortium hoping to stage a Formula One grand prix in the Olympic Park.

Decision over the Olympic Stadium future is constantly being postponed, possibly won’t be known until the end of the year. Also the funding for ground’s post-Olympic redevelopment remains unknown with the Treasury refusing to hand over £337million in Olympic contingency underspend to help install retractable seating.