Kieran Maguire: ‘Forward-thinking’ David Sullivan move could earn West Ham £20m+
David Sullivan’s insistence to insert a one-year extension clause in West Ham stars’ deals could pay off to the tune of “10s of millions”.
That is the view of finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the “forward-thinking” club policy.
Per the Daily Mail last Friday (4 February), the Irons are confident of earning north of £100m for Declan Rice because of his extension clause.
The Hammers’ star man is under contract until 2024 and has made it clear that he will not sign an extension.
But it is claimed that the option to extend his deal, which was Sullivan’s brainchild, means they are confident of securing top value from a sale.
Maguire hailed the West Ham co-owner for his smart business practice.
“As a general policy, it’s very forward-thinking,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“It could be worth extra 10s of millions and it helps West Ham protect the value of their assets. At the same time, it de-risks things if they go wrong.
“There is always a danger if you sign a player on a very long contract and he doesn’t perform. You have that commitment there to pay the wages.
“Once you have identified which players are your most valuable, you can trigger the extension and that means you can’t lose that player on a Bosman.
“Normally when a player gets into the last 12 months of their contract, their value starts to taper.
“Normally, the player’s value declines by about 25 per cent. By the time it gets to January, you’re trying to get a fire sale price rather than nothing at all.”
Rice has registered four goals and four assists in 30 appearances this term.
A one-year extension option was also included in the new contract signed by star Michail Antonio in January.
In other news, pundit fumes at West Ham and Moyes after “disgusting” new Kurt Zouma development.