A close confidant of West Ham chief David Sullivan has released a major update on the club’s financial position after £20m of bills.
The leading Hammers insider has warned West Ham could be heading for serious PSR trouble after £20 million worth of self-inflicted bills — sparking serious concerns about the future.
In the summer West Ham’s under-fire owners insisted they could not sign players due to being at the limit in terms of wiggle room on PSR.
Sales and shedding players from the wage bill was required to fund transfer business.
But the Hammers failed to sign the young, powerful striker and new central defender that was sorely needed.
Sullivan confidant’s major West Ham PSR claim after £20m bills
West Ham are also now a Crysencio Summerville or Jarrod Bowen injury away from complete disaster with zero top quality back-up on either side.
The result has West Ham’s squad being woefully short of quality and depth in order to compete in the Premier League.
The fact West Ham sit second bottom a fifth of the way into the season with just one win from eight games so far – and have just been hit by a new but inevitable injury to Niclas Fullkrug – proves that fact.
Hammers supporters have been growing increasingly frustrated for some time, resulting in a fresh campaign of protests against the club’s ownership.
There have been calls for David Sullivan and Daniel Kretinsky to sell up to more ambitious owners or for them and vice-chair Karren Brady to step aside and bring in specialist professionals to run West Ham.
While Nuno Espirito Santo’s arrival has boosted hopes the Hammers can turn things around on the pitch, off it West Ham have already warned of trouble ahead.
The Hammers dropped a £100m bombshell back in June as they warned fans that record losses exceeding that amount were coming in the next set of accounts for December.
Given West Ham enjoyed three consecutives seasons in Europe, won a first major trophy for 43 years and sold Declan Rice and Mohammed Kudus for £160m, it’s easy to see why supporters are up in arms.
Things could be about to get even worse, though, and it’s all of the club’s own making.
A top David Sullivan confidant has made a major West Ham PSR claim after £20m of bills.
Buy cheap, buy twice as Hammers pay heavy price
Hammers insider Sean Whetstone counts Sullivan and Brady among his contacts and is also well-versed on the club’s finances.
The Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules currently limit clubs to a maximum loss of £105 million over three years.
West Ham have already said £100m plus losses are on the way.
The hiring and firing of managers and staff all count towards a club’s income and outgoings in terms of PSR compliance.
Now Whetstone has laid bare the price of West Ham’s woeful managerial appointments and subsequent sackings since parting company with David Moyes.
The Hammers got things so badly wrong with the appointments of technical director Tim Steidten and managerial flops Julen Lopetegui and Graham Potter that they were all fired with plenty of time to run on their contracts.
That means compensation has to be paid and Whetstone says West Ham will show they have had to fork out a whopping £20m in compensation for Lopetegui and Potter when accounts are released in late December or early January.
Both managers were free agents, yet Sullivan had baulked at paying £10m release clauses for Rubem Amorim, Thomas Frank and Marco Silva when parting ways with Moyes.
The cost of disposing of Steidten, Lopetegui and his backroom team, plus paying compensation to Chelsea for Kyle Macaulay is estimated to have reached £10m, according to Whetstone.
The cost of disposing of Potter, his backroom staff, and more recently Macaulay could cost another £10m on the assumption they don’t land similar roles with other clubs quickly.
£20m manager flop bills add to record £100m West Ham losses
The £20m financial black hole comes at the worst possible time for West Ham.
Especially with the club clearly needing to invest in signings in January to stay aboard the Premier League gravytrain.
Whetstone has confirmed Hammers News’ June exclusive that record £100m losses are on the horizon.
And he says things are about to get even worse.
“This season will be severely financially challenging too, with the cost of disposing of two managers, the summer transfer spending under Potter and the need to back Nuno in January to ensure Premier League survival,” Whetstone said.
Premier League clubs will soon vote to scrap PSR and adopt an “alternative system” Premier League chief executive Richard Masters confirmed last week.
And Whetstone warns that if the current PSR rules are not scrapped, West Ham could find themselves at risk next season, assuming the club survives the drop this season.
