West Ham are believed to have paid about £24.5m in initial transfer fees this summer transfer window for the seven signings but that amount could rise to £37m based on certain conditions such as appearances, goals and the Hammers final league position this season. Add to this a massive £49m wages and national insurance we have committed to over the next four to five years for the new recruits, agents fees are thought to add another £4m to the total bill.
The annual budget for players wages is thought to have now reached £57m leaving just £1m before the Premier League Financial Fair Play limit is reached for this season.
Although West Ham received over £73m from TV income last season and are likely to pass £110m turnover when figures are released next January for last season there is likely to be a short fall with the recent huge investment in signings. I wouldn’t be surprised if David Sullivan and David Gold injected more money to help balance the books this season after already loaning £45.7m in the form of share holder loans plus another £25.5m for shares from the Icelandics on the condition they loaned the money back to the club.
The cost of staying in the Premier League have never be higher but the consequences of relegation before we move to the Olympic Stadium would be catastrophic at this stage.