There are wildly conflicting new claims over the financial position of co-owner Daniel Kretinsky at West Ham ahead of an expensive summer.
West Ham manager David Moyes has stated he needs to perform a big rebuild at West Ham this summer (The Evening Standard).
Recent lethargic defeats to Spurs and Brentford following European games have highlighted just how shallow Moyes’s squad is.
In a recent interview with Alan Shearer for The Athletic the Scot made his feelings perfectly clear to West Ham owners David Sullivan, Daniel Kretinsky and David Gold that he must get big backing financially this summer to continue to progress.
The Best XI Already NOT Going To The 2022 World Cup
Expectations were high in the January window following the arrival of Czech billionaire Kretinsky as West Ham’s second biggest stakeholder in November.
But the Hammers failed to sign a single player Moyes wanted.
A host of quality signings are needed in key areas such as up front, central defence, central midfield and at left-back this summer. And the goalkeeper situation surrounding Alphonse Areola’s future must be settled too.
With Kretinsky on board supporters are hoping to see more ambition and a willingness to back Moyes with serious money.
Especially as signing so many players in one window – as we have seen with some of the prices quoted in January – will not come cheap for the Hammers.
But there are wildly conflicting new claims over Kretinsky’s financial position at West Ham ahead of an expensive summer.
And a club insider told Claret and Hugh the West Ham board are willing to ‘splash the cash’ in the next window.
The West Ham insider also told Claret and Hugh that Kretinsky will use some of the companies he is involved in to fund any deals over £100m.
Now, though, Football Insider claims a source close to West Ham has told them sanctions on Russian business have left Kretinsky unable to access much of his cash reserves.
“It is understood that the Irons’ transfer plans are currently on the backburner as a result,” Football Insider claims.
And football finance expert Kieran Maguire claims Kretinsky might have to use private loans as a temporary measure to fund new additions this summer.
“The aim of West Ham’s owners historically is that they’ve been relatively self-sufficient in the transfer market,” Maguire told Football Insider.
“If Kretinsky was planning to put on the afterburners in the transfer market, this could delay things a bit.
“But 2023-24 is still a few transfer windows away and the geopolitical situation will likely have changed by then.
“Instead of increasing equity investment, the money is likely to come from loans. Individual investors can still spend as much as they choose, but it would come into the club through debt.”