Nuno Espirito Santo to act on West Ham ‘assurances’ in new January transfer update
West Ham are already making preparations for the January transfer window, with reinforcements set to be key to any hopes of survival.
After a run of six consecutive games without victory, West Ham beat Newcastle United 3-1 on Sunday.
Jacob Murphy put the visitors ahead, before Lucas Paqueta scored, and Sven Botman’s own goal had the Hammers ahead. Tomas Soucek‘s late slide would seal a much-needed three points.
Nuno Espirito Santo started Callum Wilson against Newcastle, but the former Tottenham boss could still do with another striker at the London Stadium.
Niclas Fullkrug was injured while on international duty, but the German is expected to return within the coming weeks.
Nuno Espirito Santo would have had January ‘assurances’
West Ham have been linked with a move for Ivan Toney in January, with the striker thought to be open to a return to the Premier League.
The 29-year-old left Brentford just last summer, but is aware that Thomas Tuchel will want to see him in the Premier League before he hands out a spot in the England squad for the World Cup.
| West Ham | Summer transfer window 2025-26 |
| Spent | £131.3m |
| Sold | £55m |
| Net spend | £76.3m |
Finance expert Dan Plumley has explained that while Nuno would have had assurances on spending, he would have been made promises on sales, too.
“You imagine it would have been a part of these conversations from the start,” Plumley exclusively told West Ham Zone.
“He would’ve wanted assurances on money to spend in the window, yes, coming up, but also the line back the other way would probably have been ‘well, he might want to shift a few on as well to be able to do that and he’ll want to build his squad’.
“And there’s a short-term pressure to that as we say because they’re deep in it at the minute. He’s got to get them out of that, and part of that will be about his recruitment in January and maybe offloading a few to bring a few in, but it’ll certainly be part of his bigger plans for the club.
“And as you say, if you need to do that, the time to do that is sooner rather than later because you’ve got to get things sorted out for that January window. Make sure you bring in the players you want to keep you safe in that league, and then you can build from there.”
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Who could be on the chopping block?
The emergence of Freddie Potts, who put in a stunning display on Saturday, will likely mean West Ham can expect a more senior midfielder to depart in January.
James Ward-Prowse and Guido Rodriguez head the list, with reports suggesting Nuno has the green light to offload both of those to strengthen around his squad.
Luis Guilherme made an appearance off the bench in Nuno’s first game in charge, but has not appeared since. The Brazilian could leave on loan in January.
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