West Ham United: Kieran Maguire shares January transfer update as club sources fear FFP
Kieran Maguire has claimed the sale of Declan Rice to Arsenal will allow West Ham to spend in January, despite concerns from sources at the club over the threat of Financial Fair Play rulings.
West Ham news source Sean Whetstone reported that his inside sources claimed the Hammers would be forced to sell players in January to slash the wage bill through fears of UEFA FFP breaches.
However, Maguire explained that the money from the Rice sale will count towards the finances in the calendar year of 2024, meaning the Hammers are clear of any FFP threat in January.
The pair were speaking on Moore Than Just a Podcast [1 January] as Whetstone shared: “This January, my sources have said we are up to the limit of FFP for UEFA wages ratio. Therefore, we’ve got to sell to buy. Not just from a point-of-view of getting player sales in, but actually getting people off the wage bill.”
Maguire then clarified: “The UEFA rules go from 1 January to 31 December, so I’m more concerned about what’s happened in the calendar year of 2023.
“Now in this calendar year, the sale of Declan Rice means that West Ham are clear for the calendar year of 2024. That’s why I don’t see there being a problem.”
West Ham will have budgeted properly
The board at West Ham will be fully aware of the UEFA rules concerning wages, which are changing each year from a 90% cap to 80%, and then to 70%, and will have budgeted to afford it.
After a ten-point deduction was handed to Everton for their Premier League FFP breach, a warning was sent to English clubs that they will want to avoid a similar situation unfolding.
While the concerns over West Ham’s finances may rest with UEFA rather than the Premier League, the threat remains and they will not want to face punishment from the European governing body.
The threat of the possibility of having to sell to buy in January and to offload players from the wage bill will have been a concern, but it appears they have been saved by the way UEFA conduct their checks.
If the finances were taken on a seasonal basis – i.e. August to May, the Hammers may have been in trouble, but the sale of Rice in 2023 becomes part of the 2024 checks and will see them safe.
In other West Ham news, the Hammers want to sign an “excellent” defender in January.