West Ham United’s transfer plans for January have been leaked to a top journalist who counts David Sullivan as his key contact — and they’re nothing short of astonishing.
With the club staring down the barrel of relegation, Nuno Espirito Santo and the Hammers hierarchy appear ready to go all out in a desperate bid to save their Premier League status.
West Ham are looking relegation certainties never mind candidates.
The 2-0 defeat at home to Brentford on Monday night means the Hammers have won just two matches at the London Stadium this calendar year – both last season against relegated Leicester and Fulham.
West Ham have lost five consecutive home games for the first time since 1931 as they sit second bottom of the Premier League with over a fifth of the season gone.
The problems are nothing new, though.
West Ham close to rock bottom but problems are nothing new
The malaise kicked in at the turn of the year in January 2024, since when West Ham have won just 17 of their last 66 Premier League matches.
Many felt the October international break came at a good time for Nuno, allowing him 16 uninterrupted days to work with his squad.
Especially as it came before a crucial run of winnable fixtures against teams in and around them in the table, starting with Brentford.
But the dismal 2-0 defeat to the Bees, which could easily have been 6-0 and has been billed the worst performance of any Premier League team this season, leaves West Ham in all kinds of trouble.
What is clear, and has been for some time, is that the team and squad is nowhere near good enough.
West Ham fans have been making that clear to anyone who will listen for some time now.
Especially after a hugely underwhelming summer window where the club had to sell to buy.
With West Ham staring into the abyss, the January transfer window will be last chance saloon to save the club’s season.
Now David Sullivan has leaked astonishing West Ham January transfer plans in a bid to secure Premier League survival.
The Hammers desperately needed to sign a powerful, pacy striker in the summer.
Sullivan leaks astonishing West Ham January transfer plans
A new centre-back and more creativity and legs were also needed in midfield.
But deadline day came and went with only Igor Julio coming in on a straight loan from Brighton.
The Brazilian defender has barely featured, making one late sub appearance so far.
The result of West Ham’s recruitment – and lack of it – in the summer is there for all to see in the club’s dire predicament.
The Hammers blamed PSR for their inability to invest more heavily in signings in the summer.
Now it seems Sullivan and the board did have money they could spend on the team after all.
Because a top Sky Sports journalist who counts Sullivan as his number one West Ham contact has spilled the beans on what the board are plotting with Nuno in January.
Kaveh Solhekol is Sky Sports’ leading reporter and one of the few journalists Sullivan still speaks to.
In a major update overnight, Solhekol has revealed that West Ham are planning several signings in January, saying ‘funds will be made available to Nuno’.
It is claimed the owners and Nuno have a plan to address a lack of pace in midfield and up front, as well as problems at the back.
Solhekol claims Nuno has had confirmation that funds will be available to strengthen the squad.
The nature of the detail in Solhekol’s report suggests the information has come directly from Solhekol’s main source Sullivan.
Hammers planning big triple swoop as a minimum in January
Because he says West Ham are targeting signing at least one striker, one midfielder and one defender in January as they bid for survival.
So as a minimum the Hammers will be making a triple swoop in those three key areas with the prospect of further signings on top.
The report states that West Ham’s biggest worry is being adrift of safety, which will make it difficult to sign the players needed to stay up.
Not least because quality players are in short supply in January and only a few would be willing to move to a club who could potentially be fighting relegation.
The update will have West Ham fans tearing what remains of their hair out.
Why has it taken this for the owners to invest in the key areas that the world and its wife knew needed strengthening in the summer?
Where was this money in the summer?
Clearly the now very real prospect of falling off the Premier League gravy train has West Ham’s owners terrified into action.
The club had just better hope it’s not too little, too late by then.
