West Ham are ‘on the edge of precipice’ as new bombshell revealed
West Ham could face a problem with the London Stadium if they 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, stating that any new ownership at West Ham may face an “issue” with the club’s home ground.
The valuation of West Ham may drop by £300million on relegation, with the London club seven points from safety in the Premier League.
West Ham supporters have called for David Sullivan and Karren Brady to resign, with the fanbase calling for a change in ownership.
London Stadium cited amid West Ham ‘pressure’
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 West Ham could face a “long time” out of the Premier League if they drop down to the Championship.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast, Wyness thinks any new ownership would face “an expensive rebuild” of the London Stadium in the second tier.
He told Football Insider‘s Inside Track podcast: “If they go down, that stadium is going to be half empty and that’s a big stadium to play in half empty.
“Any new owner, if there was to be one, would have to address that stadium issue and do an expensive rebuild as well as trying to get people up from the Championship, and that’s going to be a very difficult feat to do given the finances that you’re going to get in the Championship.
“So West Ham are on the edge of a precipice right here, and you know there’s a lot of pressure on Sullivan and Brady right now from the fan base, and certainly it’s something that they’ve got to be mindful of as to what the consequences are.
“I don’t see a good ending here, because I think it could take them a long time to get back up if they’re not careful.”
West Ham face injury concern amid transfer latest
West Ham face a dilemma in the January transfer window, over whether to spend money in the hope of avoiding the drop.
Investment in players may only be worthwhile if the Hammers were to retain their Premier League status for another season.
West Ham may have to sign a new centre-back, after Konstantinos Mavropanos suffered a neck injury against QPR.