David Sullivan’s £43m West Ham spending spree plays with fire amid financial risk of relegation
David Sullivan seems to be granting every single one of Nuno Espirito Santo’s West Ham wishes in the January transfer window.
West Ham are closing in on the signing of Taty Castellanos from Serie A side Lazio, with a reported £26million fee agreed to seal the deal.
The Hammers are also edging closer to pulling off the acquisition of Brazilian striker Pablo from Gil Vicente, in a transfer that will cost Sullivan at least £17.4million.
Nuno is also after a reunion with Adama Traore, his former Wolves star, who will only add to the combined cost of £43.3million that West Ham will be forking out on Castellanos and Pablo.
Sullivan is now rolling the dice one final time for the Irons, with big-money moves that could have the worst possible financial implications for the Hammers.
Relegation could now set West Ham back by years
Nuno has a major job to do to keep West Ham up, but the impending signings will no doubt hand the Hammers boss a fighting chance.
There have been suggestions that Nuno could be sacked by West Ham after poor results recently, however Sullivan’s show of faith in the transfer market may say otherwise.
West Ham could lose £60million in revenue should they drop to the Championship, and significant losses will only harm the Irons’ attempts to get promotion back to the Premier League.
The likes of Castellanos and Pablo would likely depart the London Stadium should relegation occur come the end of the season, and it’s quite possible that Sullivan would have to sell the pair on cut-price deals.
However, the good news is that the striker pairing could be the answer to all of Nuno’s problems.
- Read more: Callum Wilson looks finished at West Ham as advanced talks underway over January transfer
Why Pablo and Taty Castellanos can save West Ham from relegation
Niclas Fullkrug’s move to AC Milan was confirmed on Friday after weeks of speculation, as the German’s time at E20 was truly a failure.
The number nine offered little to nothing for Nuno since he replaced Graham Potter with poor performances and injuries only damaging West Ham.
But Pablo and Castellanos’ proposed moves could change everything.
- Pablo and Castellanos have scored 12 goals between them this campaign
- Pablo has a 43% conversion rate and wins 2.5 aerial duels per game, according to Sofascore
- Castellanos has been named in two Serie A team of the week’s despite only eight starts
Pablo offers Nuno a physical presence with technical and link-up ability, while Castellanos is a striker who has intelligent movement.
The West Ham boss will now have the luxury of two forwards who both offer two types of playstyles that the Hammers have missed for years, as relegation may not become a reality after all.
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