West Ham are facing one of their most difficult summers for a decade as PSR bites and they can’t afford to get it wrong again.
- Hammers News exclusive
With Tim Steidten gone, majority owner David Sullivan will be West Ham’s de facto director of football this summer window.
That may send a shudder down the spines of some fans.
Those who have followed recent windows more closely may cut the divisive co-owner some slack, though.
Sullivan’s track record with transfers is certainly no worse than many of the hyped up directors across the Premier League and Europe.
It has been noted Sullivan was the one who pushed to sign Crysencio Summerville last summer.
Not only was he one of West Ham’s most exciting and best value captures at £26m, Summerville also fits the profile of player fans want to see brought to the club.
Fans will take comfort in the fact this time around new head of recruitment Kyle Macauley will be lining up the targets alongside manager Graham Potter.
Sullivan and vice-chair Karren Brady will be doing the deals. And that’s what will make or break the summer – and possibly the team for the coming years.
West Ham’s owners insist they are a ‘happy ship’ in the new structure.
Hammers News has been told rumours of a move for Dan Ashworth are ‘simply not true’.
West Ham’s big problem is, they have no money.
The Hammers have braced fans for £80m losses on the horizon.
And West Ham’s hierarchy launched unprecedented action to bring in cash this week.
West Ham blast 2025 summer window ‘mess’
West Ham have plans to raise £100m in player sales.
That will fund signings for Potter and Macauley, who want to drive down the age of the Premier League’s oldest squad.
The missteps of last summer resulted in a dismal campaign.
Potter is doing his best to salvage something from it.
The Hammers boss has a £15m carrot dangling too for the run-in.
It is vital West Ham get the 2025 summer window right.
There can be no hard luck stories, no tales of being under-prepared. No phantom bids or faux ambition.
Players need to be shipped out – just as they do at every other Premier League club now due to PSR – and young, hungry, talented stars need to be brought in.
Twist means Premier League summer window could be longer
The situation has been made more acute by the fact some Premier League clubs are pushing to shorten the next transfer window.
Now West Ham have blasted the 2025 summer window ‘mess’ but a twist means it could actually be longer.
A faction of Prem clubs want the window to close before the start of the new 2025/26 season on August 16th.
That would mean this summer’s window shutting nearly three weeks earlier than usual.
Time-wise that piles the pressure on clubs like West Ham, who need to perform major surgery on their squads instead of being focused on one or two additions to freshen things up.
The Hammers are not envisaging a 21-player overhaul like last summer.
But it won’t be far off if they can get value in sales.
The good news is, West Ham may not be as hard-pushed for time to get deals done as they feared.
FIFA could give Hammers and co two bites at transfer cherry
In fact they and their rivals might even get two bites at the cherry.
The Premier League could be forced to operate two transfer windows this summer due to disruption caused by the Club World Cup.
FIFA has now agreed that its interim transfer window for Club World Cup teams, open from 1-10 June, can be extended to all clubs in the affected leagues.
That’s after some Premier League clubs not involved were unhappy at the prospect of being shut out of the market during that period, according to The Guardian’s Matt Hughes.
Those clubs wanted the domestic window to open earlier than usual so they were not at a disadvantage.
But FIFA regulations state the maximum amount of time permitted for a transfer window is 89 days.
Time pressure for West Ham rebuild could be eased
Opening the domestic window on June 1 without a break would force the Premier League to shut it early.
Premier League clubs have tried that in the past. But it left them seriously vulnerable to late bids for star players from elsewhere in Europe and mega-rich Saudi Arabia.
A top spokesman for West Ham’s owners exclusively told Hammers News it results in a ‘sitting ducks’ situation.
The spokesman has hit out at the powers-that-be, calling the whole situation a ‘mess’.
And the Hammers’ hierarchy wants clarity soon.
“Some Premier League clubs have been pushing to end the transfer window before start of season,” the West Ham spokesman confirmed.
“It was discussed at a meeting a few weeks ago but no agreement was reached.
“FIFA have now said all clubs can use their special club World Cup window.
“With that thrown into the mix along with PSR, ATP and UEFA FFP, it’s all a mess with rules changing all the time.”
This summer could be one of the most interesting windows yet.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
