Graham Potter has a lot of work to do at West Ham United over the next couple of years.
West Ham appointed Graham Potter to replace Jueln Lopetegui at the London Stadium at the start of last month.
In the January transfer window, Potter signed Evan Ferguson on loan from Brighton, and brought James Ward-Prowse back to the club after his failed loan spell with Nottingham Forest.
The Hammers head coach is said to be planning a huge squad revamp at the London Stadium in the summer.
The squad building at West Ham over the past few years has been truly horrendous.
David Moyes, Julen Lopetegui and Tim Steidten are all to blame for that, and now Potter and his sidekick Kyle Macaulay face the daunting task of cleaning up the mess left behind by the aforementioned trio.
Worryingly, Sean Whetstone came out on Sunday night and suggested that the Hammers will have to sell one of our top players this summer, in order to fund a spending spree.
However, I genuinely don’t think that needs to happen. The merits of selling Mohammed Kudus or Lucas Paqueta can be debated another time of course, and that is an entirely different argument.
I truly believe that West Ham don’t actually need to sell any of our key players in the summer. There is a far better solution to the apparent financial restraints we face…
Graham Potter shifting 5 players would save West Ham £410k/pw
The Hammers chief has a really easy solution to the club’s supposed financial woes staring him straight in the face.
All he has to do is move on five players in the summer who have played only 3,493 Premier League minutes for the Hammers between them this season.
Here’s the list of players West Ham should move on in the summer:
Danny Ings – £125k-a-week
West Ham signed Danny Ings from Aston Villa in January 2023 for around £15 million (Sky Sports). However, the 32-year-old has proven to be a terrible signing for us, and the sooner he leaves the club the better. Ings’ contract with West Ham is set to expire in the summer, and he’ll almost certainly be released.
Michail Antonio – £100k-a-week
Unfortunately for Michail Antonio, he broke his leg in a near fatal road traffic accident at the start of December. He’s lucky to be alive, and there are huge question marks as to whether he will ever play again. By the time he returns to action he will be in and around 36. Sentiment aside, I don’t envisage a scenario whereby he ever plays for West Ham again.
Guido Rodriguez – £75k-a-week
What a horrendous signing Guido Rodriguez has proven to be for the Hammers. The only good thing about the deal to bring him to the London Stadium is that he was signed on a free transfer, so we should be able to make a profit by selling him to a club in Spain in the summer.
Aaron Cresswell – £50k-a-week
A fine servant for the Hammers, Aaron Cresswell‘s time at the London Stadium may well be up in the summer. At 35, he’s nowhere near good enough to be playing at the highest level anymore. I fully expect Cresswell to be moved on in the summer.
Lukasz Fabianski – £60k-a-week
As good as Lukasz Fabianski has been for West Ham, he is clearly very limited with the ball at his feet. There’s no way that Potter’s system will flourish with Fabianski between the sticks. I believe he’ll be released at the end of the season.
Ollie Scarles can replace Cresswell’s place in the squad, whilst Lewis Orford can do the same for Guido Rodriguez.
Evan Ferguson and hopefully one more striker will then be able to fill the avoid left behind by Michail Antonio and Danny Ings.
And a new number one goalkeeper will need to be signed in the summer anyway, so releasing Fabianski should be a no-brainer.
West Ham in great shape financially
So, if Potter gets rid of all five of those players in the summer, West Ham will save a whopping £410k-a-week in wages, and more than £21 million per year!
The best thing about that is that none of those five players are even regular starters for the Hammers.
If Graham Potter manages to sell someone like Jean-Clair Todibo for more than our obligation to buy him is worth, then West Ham will be laughing this summer.
All the doom and gloom merchants who are beating the Hammers’ financial strain drum right now need to get real.
Club insiders can send out stark messages of despair – ones that plead poverty – as much as they like.
As far as I’m concerned, the truth of the matter is that the Hammers will be just fine if the owners make a few smart decisions in the summer.
Anyway, West Ham can’t be doing too bad financially can we…we bid £57 million for Jhon Duran in January after all didn’t we?
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