New claims about £150m in transfer cash from Daniel Kretinsky has emerged at West Ham ahead of what will be a busy summer but there’s a catch.
When West Ham announced Czech billionaire Kretinsky had become the club’s second biggest stakeholder back in November, the excitement was palpable.
Coupled with the arrival of head of recruitment Rob Newman from none other than Manchester City, West Ham fans were expecting some shrewd business in the transfer market.
Particularly with so much to play for in the second half of the season.
But January came and went with no new arrivals, much to the chagrin of West Ham fans who felt it was a golden opportunity wasted.
Hammers boss David Moyes insisted the money was there for him in January but the players were not.
And the Scot has this week admitted he came close to signing new Liverpool sensation Luis Diaz only for the Reds to swoop in at the last moment.
A very busy summer beckons for West Ham. Moyes is facing a major rebuild with as many as 10-12 new players required to strengthen where fans felt was necessary last month – namely up front and in defence – and replace those leaving, retiring or clearly not in the manager’s plans.
That will not be cheap given Moyes’s recruitment policy and philosophy.
Well now according to a club insider, Kretinsky is set to show his hand in the summer by boosting Moyes’s transfer kitty to the tune of £150m – but there’s a catch, it will come in the form of a “loan”.
New £150m Daniel Kretinsky transfer cash claim at West Ham but there’s a catch
The new £150m Kretinsky transfer cash claim was made on West Ham website Claret and Hugh yesterday.
“That (summer budget) could be as much as £150 million with new investor and board member Daniel Kretinsky acting as banker with loans for any added expense in the market,” Claret and Hugh claim.
“As revealed earlier the manager is keen to bring in a striker who could be top of the range if he can be found at around £50 million or a backup to (Michail) Mikey Antonio.
“And a left winger and number two left back is also very much on his mind as the summer approaches.”
Surely a centre-back is right at the top of the list alongside a new striker too.
Angelo Ogbonna will be 34 and coming back from a very serious ACL injury. And Craig Dawson is not getting any younger either. Moyes wanted a new centre-back in January so that too will be a priority.
The biggest disappointment about these new claims are that the Kretinsky transfer cash would allegedly be in the form of a loan.
When will West Ham find a benefactor who is willing to show real ambition and pump cash in to build the club up without expecting it back.
There will be no danger of Kretinsky getting his money back either.
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