Daniel Kretinsky will be astounded by £626m West Ham United reveal by Sky Sports
Prospective new West Ham owner Daniel Kretinsky has been given the perfect introduction to the club’s turbulent nature this season.
The Hammers are dangerously close to being relegated from the Premier League, but are into the last eight of the Europa Conference League.
It’s been quite a showcase for Kretinsky, who currently owns 27% of the Hammers’ shares, with a complete takeover potentially on his mind.
Should that come to fruition, the Czech billionaire would undoubtedly make several changes to the club, both on and off the pitch.
Replacing David Moyes may just be one of the first things on his agenda, although the under-pressure manager seems certain to be heading for the exit door sooner rather than later, regardless of what happens this season [Dean Jones].
One of the Scot’s issues has been recruitment, with Moyes deciding to turn his back on many of the newer faces in the squad in the recent victory against Fulham.
The man in the dugout has been criticised for not getting the best out of the likes of Lucas Paqueta and Gianluca Scamacca, but the players definitely need to shoulder some of the responsibility for failing to live up to expectation.
Their struggles have been emphasised further given that many home-grown or cheap recruits have shone over recent seasons, including the likes of Declan Rice, Michail Antonio, Jarrod Bowen and Lukasz Fabianski among others.
And while there is undoubtedly much more at play than transfer window failures, West Ham’s dealings overall will definitely be of huge concern to the club’s board.
According to Sky Sports, the Hammers have spent a mammoth £626.9million on new players since the summer of 2016.
That figure is more than the likes of Newcastle, Aston Villa, Brighton and Fulham, all of which are enjoying a much stronger campaign than West Ham.
It is, however, the club’s net spend of £412.2m in that period that is more alarming, with that total putting them behind only Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Manchester City.
A brief glimpse at the figures will astound Kretinsky, who would not be happy with the imbalance between such spending and the club’s worrying position in the Premier League table.
It won’t matter which players Moyes opts for in the limited number of league matches remaining, with all associated with the club only wanting the Hammers to pick up some much-needed points in the fierce fight for survival.
That fight currently sees West Ham sit just three points off 18th place and just seven points off rock bottom.