West Ham have been one of the most active clubs in the transfer window so far – but is their big spending set to continue?
Niclas Fullkrug, formerly of Borussia Dortmund, became the Hammers sixth signing of the summer earlier this week, with the club paying £25m for the striker’s services.
Max Kilman, Crysencio Summerville and Luis Guilherme have also arrived for big fees, while Guido Rodriguez and Wes Foderingham have signed for free.
Their net spend and total expenditure are both second in the Premier League since Julen Lopetegui’s arrival.
When you look at the finances in recent years, this is perhaps not surprising.
The GSB regime have always advocated a self-sufficient model, and the Irons have more or less broken even in recent seasons.
To explore the West Ham’s finances and whether this level of expenditure is sustainable, TBR spoke exclusively to Liverpool University football finance lecturer and Price of Football author Kieran Maguire.
In an era of Profit and Sustainability Rules in which spending is tightly tied to revenue, commercial income is central to the playing budget.
One area that Man United, Everton, Tottenham and West Ham are all targeting at present is stadium naming rights.
A recent report from industry experts Kroll found that the UK football naming rights space is worth £75m annually.
Significantly, Twickenham, home of England rugby, has just struck a £100m, 10-year deal with German financial service institution Allianz, who also sponsor Bayern Munich and Juventus’s stadiums.
