David Sullivan exit mooted at West Ham United as Daniel Kretinsky role changes
West Ham United’s transfer plans are unlikely to be affected if David Sullivan leaves the club with Daniel Kretinsky said to be stepping up, according to Dan Plumley.
Frank McAvennie has suggested that Kretinsky is “stepping up” to help push the Hammers up the table after the success of Aston Villa, which has led to speculation that Sullivan could move on.
When asked about how that could affect the summer transfer window, football finance expert Plumley believes that while it would have some impact as it would be a major change, the club will have plans underway already and they should be fine.
“I think the honest answer to that is yes, it will always cause a bit of upheaval if boardrooms or ownership structures change,” he exclusively told West Ham News.
“I think you have to overlay other factors with that, as you say a change of management or the coaching side of things at West Ham over the summer which is likely to mean that a new manager is going to want some movement in the transfer market, they’ll want to identify some players, and they’ll want to back that manager anyway regardless of what’s happening at ownership and boardroom level.
“So I think it’s not the one factor in isolation, especially if you’ve got a new manager coming in. There’s going to be some type of talks about what happens in the summer window, and as we say we don’t know what’s fully behind the claims, whether it’s a real statement of intent or not. Every club is up for sale at the right price I think is the reality, irrespective of what owners will say or do.
“But all the while you have to get your plans in place and you have to keep pushing forward for the pre-season, because if not you get left behind because other clubs are already targeting players and trying to get deals over the line.
“I think either way given the situation at West Ham there has to be some movement in this window anyway, but you’re absolutely right on the general principle that boardroom and ownership changes can have an impact on transfer market activity.”
West Ham United need major investment to compete
The reason Aston Villa have been able to break into the Champions League this season is because of fantastic performances on the pitch, coupled with tremendous investment off it.
West Ham have shown potential to do similar after winning the Europa Conference League in 2023, and the change of manager to Julen Lopetegui suggests that they are looking to get better.
But without big investment off the pitch when it comes to the club’s infrastructure and also on the pitch with top players, then it won’t be possible for them to really close the gap.
It’s clear that plans are in place to try and make that happen, but if Sullivan is to suddenly leave the club then it’s hard to say how that would affect current plans and what would change in reality.
But Plumley is confident that it wouldn’t be too much of a problem should it happen, so Hammers fans can rest easy knowing that the summer window should be okay.
In other West Ham news, the club have tabled a £7.6m bid for a brand new striker.
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