Jarrod Bowen latest: These are the players who will quit West Ham if they are relegated
Jarrod Bowen could lead an exodus of West Ham stars if the club are relegated from the Premier League.
That is according to ex-Everton, Aston Villa, and Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, who has given his verdict on who might leave the Hammers if they end up in the Championship.
West Ham’s 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest leaves the London club seven points adrift of safety, just days after a damaging 3-0 loss at Wolves.
Manager Nuno Espirito Santo’s future is uncertain at West Ham, with the 51-year-old winless in his last 10 Premier League games.
West Ham could face rebuild ‘issue’
Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – believes Lucas Paqueta could also depart the London Stadium upon relegation.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness thinks the current West Ham squad would not be able to gain promotion back to the Premier League.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “West Ham are on the precipice right now because, with this squad, if they go down I don’t see how they can get back up.
“It’s reminiscent to me of when I first took over at Villa, and they’d just been relegated, and I had to do 12 in, 12 out and that was in six weeks and West Ham would have to rebuild that squad. You can imagine Jarrod Bowen will be gone, Lucas Paqueta will be gone, and the goalkeeper will probably be gone. There’ll be a few others that will probably go.
“They’re going to have to rebuild the squad to fight in the Championship and that’s not easy to put that in place quickly, and then you’ve got to, if you do get back up, you’ve then got to rebuild again to stay in the Premier League and if West Ham haven’t got the financial resources that’s going to be an issue.”
West Ham managerial contenders revealed
The Hammers could turn to a new manager amid their expected relegation from the Premier League, with contenders already taking shape to replace Nuno.
Slaven Bilic could return to West Ham having served the club as a player and manager previously, whilst former Middlesborough boss Michael Carrick may also make the shortlist.
It could be one final throw of the dice for West Ham, with 17 games remaining to preserve their Premier League status.