On Friday each Premier League club were required to publish their spend on agent fees for the last 12 months. West Ham figures reveal that the Hammers spend to agents soared to £6,380,339.31. This included three loan signings in January and nine arrivals during the summer. This is an increase of over 50% on the £4,169,134.09 paid to agents in the 2012/2013 period.
The Hammers rank sixth in the table of agent fess in the Premier League this year up from 9th place last year. We are only surpassed by Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Spurs, and Manchester United who spent more than us on agents. It brings the Hammers spend on agents over the last five years to nearly £24 million.
1st: Chelsea – £16,771,328
2nd: Liverpool – £14,308,444
3rd: Manchester City – £12,811,946
4th: Tottenham Hotspur – £10,983,011
5th: Manchester United – £7,975,556
6th: West Ham United – £6,380,339
7th: Everton – £5,753,269
8th: Sunderland – £5,276,674
9th: Arsenal – £4,293,407
10th: Stoke City – £3,986,850
11th: Newcastle United – £3,876,250
12th: Swansea City – £3,784,090
13th: West Bromwich Albion – £3,493,745
14th: Queens Park Rangers – £3,242,668
15th: Southampton – £2,766,444
16th: Aston Villa – £2,577,866
17th: Hull City – £2,459,010
18th: Crystal Palace – £2,200,797
19th: Leicester City – £1,608,418
20th: Burnley – £711,024
While this might seem a lot of money I am guessing both David Sullivan and Karren Brady would not spent a penny more than is necessary and this is regarded as a necessary evil in the modern game. You could conclude that spending over £6m in agent fees to rank in the top six of spenders shows ambition to join the top six in the league. Time will tell whether this strategy pays off!