West Ham ‘£60m’ plan drives Nuno Espirito Santo deal
West Ham’s £60million escape plan is at the heart of the club’s Nuno Espirito Santo deal.
That is according to finance expert Dr Dan Plumley, who told Football Insider exclusively that the Hammers will become more and more concerned if they find themselves stuck in the bottom three come Christmas.
Graham Potter was sacked by West Ham with the club sitting 19th in the Premier League, with just one win from their opening six games in all competitions.
Nuno Espirito Santo was hired to take over at West Ham, and despite being the only manager to lose to the Irons this season, his arrival had a positive effect immediately.
The East London side claimed a 1-1 draw against Everton in his first game in charge, and if results improve, the Portuguese boss could save his club a £60m loss in revenue.
West Ham willing to spend millions to retain Premier League status
Speaking to Football Insider exclusively, Plumley explained that although it will cost West Ham millions of pounds in compensation to replace Potter with Espirito Santo, the Portuguese manager gives them their best chance of avoiding relegation, which is the “number one objective” this season.
He said: “I think we obviously will get a read on the numbers at some point, but if you look at other managers in and around the Premier League, and the length of contracts and things like that, you’d say that’s going to be a couple of million, it’s going to be low single-digit millions.
“What we’re going back to there is, ultimately, if you’re already stuck in the bottom three, you absolutely don’t want to be in that bottom three, getting closer to Christmas, or getting dragged into a relegation battle, because that’s going to mean a £60m reduction in revenue.
“So it’s pretty clear here that’s a decision made with Premier League status being retained as the number one objective.”
David Sullivan may hamper West Ham progress under Nuno Espirito Santo
The Portuguese manager’s arrival has brought some positivity to the Hammers’ disenchanted fanbase.
However, there are concerns that David Sullivan could bring it crashing down.
Espirito Santo has a history of not always seeing eye-to-eye with his boss, which is largely why he was let go by Nottingham Forest, and West Ham‘s owner himself has a reputation for being difficult to work with.
The Iron’s supporters will be desperate to see Sullivan stay out of the ex-Wolves boss’ as he looks to perform a quick-fix at the London Stadium.