(Credit: Imago)

Jacob Raw

Wed 18 March 2026 17:10, UK

Callum Wilson was recently handed a new one-year deal at West Ham United, but he could be as good as gone this summer if David Sullivan lands Joshua Zirkzee.

Nuno Espirito Santo initially told Wilson that he was going to struggle for game time at the London Stadium under his management, but performances changed his own fortunes.

Burnley were interested in signing the number nine, whose deal with the Hammers only ran until the end of this season, but a new deal now keeps him in E20 until June 2027.

West Ham have monitored Zirkzee for a while, and this summer could be the perfect financial opportunity to land their long-admired target, but it may come at Wilson’s expense.

Why Callum Wilson will leave this summer if Joshua Zirkzee joins

Manchester United value Zirkzee at £21.6million, which, as seen in the January window, is a fee that David Sullivan is more than willing to cough up for the Irons.

It will depend on Nuno’s ability to keep the Hammers in the Premier League, of course, but the projections are saying that it will happen, going off current form.

• Zirkzee has only started four times for Man United in the league this season
• Benjamin Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo, and Matheus Cunha are all ahead of him in Michael Carrick’s pecking order

West Ham already have Pablo and Taty Castellanos on their books, and adding Zirkzee to the mix will only complicate things even more for Wilson.

The former Newcastle forward has failed to score in his last eight appearances, and the lack of game time won’t help his match sharpness at the age of 34.

While there’s no doubt that Zirkzee could prove to be a great value for money signing, the overall decision to hand Wilson new terms would seem rather pointless.

Who is having more of an impact: Pablo or Wilson?

If Zirkzee were to come to the London Stadium in the summer, Wilson’s exit would be the one most people would expect.

However, given Pablo’s slow start in E20, his future beyond this season is also in doubt. That’s not to say Sullivan will instantly cut his losses if the Irons stay up, but a loan move for the Brazilian could be sanctioned.

As highlighted by Sofascore, Pablo needs to get into form quickly because veteran forward Wilson is proving his worth over him.

It very well may come down to a decision on whether to let one of the two leave, should any striker, not just Zirkzee, come to West Ham in the summer window.

Space will be needed, and they are currently the two most obvious casualties, especially Wilson.