West Ham spent over £155m in the summer to help new boss Julen Lopetegui put his own stamp on the foundations David Moyes built during his successful four year reign.
It was a summer of business that sparked excitement throughout the fanbase, and the early signs after four games this season suggest that excitement is justified, with the majority of the new signings impressing early on.
But with another summer of big spending behind us, the reality is that West Ham are the Premier League’s fifth biggest spenders since 2022. That might sound great but, underneath the headlines lurk the very real obstacles that lie in wait as PSR rules continue to hamper clubs’ ambitions.
This has been reinforced by Sean Whetstone, who is renowned for having a relationship with West Ham owner David Sullivan, on X this week.
Whetstone revealed last week that the level of summer business the Hammers completed meant there would be very little in the way of transfer funds available in the January transfer window, should Lopetegui want to add more quality to his side midway through the campaign.
That will likely come as no surprise to many, especially given West Ham’s recent record in January transfer windows.
But the fact is that the club is now entering a period in which it may be forced to sell one or more of its best players to help balance the books and satisfy PSR rules. Indeed, the £105m sale of Declan Rice to Arsenal in the summer of 2023 will have significantly boosted the club’s most recent summer splurge, but there will likely need to be another big sale in order to even things up again.
Whetstone hinted that this could be the case in the near future, by saying on X: “West Ham hierarchy fear what financial accounts for this season will bring!
“Next summer with wages/turnover rules coming in for the Premier League, the club might have to make some tough decisions, but there are many variables, so the club doesn’t need to decide on what actions might need to be taken until the end of the season.”
Could this mean the end of Mohammed Kudus?
The big worry is the future of Mohammed Kudus. Liverpool have shown serious interest in the Ghana international in the past, with him being touted as the perfect replacement for Mohamed Salah.
Whetstone’s warning certainly sounds like its intended to prepare fans for the eventual sale of Kudus despite his £85m release clause expiring in the summer.
Indeed, there is nothing concrete in that assumption just yet and as the insider says, there are many variables at play, but the reality is we may have to enjoy Kudus for one last season before we’re forced to sell him.
If Kudus replicates his first season at the club with another dazzling campaign, then you would have to think it’ll take serious money to prise him away from east London. The £38m we paid Ajax for the winger’s services has already been confirmed as one of the biggest bargains in recent Premier League history, and his previous £85m release clause very quickly looked like a bargain, too.
Time will tell what happens in this situation, but us fans will have to come to terms that this current level of spending will no doubt lead to the sale of someone we don’t want to see leave.
It won’t just be this situation either, it’ll be like this forever.
