West Ham face ‘£60m hit’ after latest January signing agreed
West Ham’s January signings will only pay off if the club avoid relegation to the Championship this season.
That is according to football finance expert Dr Dan Plumley, who has exclusively told Football Insider that he believes West Ham are still making signings with a view of remaining in the Premier League.
West Ham’s 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest leaves the London club seven points adrift of safety with 17 matches remaining.
Taty Castellanos has joined West Ham, alongside striker Pablo Felipe, whilst Callum Wilson is set to depart the London Stadium in the early transfer business conducted so far.
West Ham have ‘no guarantee’ of remaining in Premier League
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Plumley believes West Ham’s investment will only be financially worthwhile if the club stay up.
“If you look at that loss of £60m of revenue [if West Ham are relegated], if you can spend money in the transfer market to buy players that get you out of trouble, you might then view that as a net gain,” Plumley said.
“So, you know, if those signings are of around £40m, if they deliver the goods, or they contribute in some way to help West Ham stay up, you can look at that and say, well, actually, we spent £40m, but we would have lost £60m. So that money is worth the investment.
“But it has to go that way in terms of, you know, the spend has to give an uptick in performances from those players, and others, to get you out of trouble. And the other side of that, of course, as you say, is that there might be a net difference there in terms of one or two going out of the club as well in January.
“So all the while, I would kind of look at that £60m as the revenue hit. And if you’re going to spend in January to get you out of trouble, then that’s where you would kind of monitor the return on investment argument within that. They’re very much signings that look like intent on staying in the league. And that can work.
“You know, we’ve seen other clubs doing this in the past. If those strikers score goals to keep you up, you look back and go, right, that was worth the investment. And, as you say, these signings look like signings that West Ham are saying, these players are ready for the Premier League, and they’re going to help us get out of the position that we’re in, and that’s what they’re aiming at.
“So I’m absolutely sure that’s where they’re aiming for. You know, of course, there’s no guarantee, and it is a big point gap as we’re talking right now.”
West Ham handed transfer warning
West Ham could be set for more signings in January in a bid to preserve their Premier League status.
However, West Ham have been warned about agent Jorge Mendes, who is now seen as an influence behind the scenes on transfers.
Mendes has previously been influential at Wolves, where Nuno Espirito Santo was manager between 2017 and 2021.