Credit: Imago

Max Wilkins

Thu 30 April 2026 14:10, UK

West Ham United let Maxwel Cornet depart on loan in the summer.

The Ivory Coast international has faced a bizarre spell with the claret and blue outfit after his move from Burnley in the summer of 2022.

Things haven’t ever worked out for the versatile forward, which has led him to depart East London on multiple temporary deals.

He now finds himself on a second spell with Genoa after agreeing a deal without featuring for the Hammers this season.

Cornet will soon return to West Ham when his loan comes to an end, and we now assess what we know about his current deal.

What is Maxwel Cornet’s contract situation at West Ham?

The Ivorian was a highly anticipated signing for the Irons after his debut campaign in the Premier League.

He was electric in his days with Burnley, even if he couldn’t stop them from being relegated to the Championship in the 2021/22 season.

That prompted the E20 outfit to splash over £17million on his signature, but it’s fair to say that he hasn’t been worth that fee.

His contract as part of that deal is still intact until the summer of 2027, with the option of a further year after penning a five-year contract in 2022.

As part of that, he reportedly earns a weekly wage of £64,000, equating to a yearly salary in the region of £3.3m.

That isn’t short change for someone who has failed to impress in East London as West Ham look set to face Cornet problems in the summer.

What will West Ham do with Cornet?

It appears that the Irons are stuck between a rock and a hard place with the versatile attacker.

He is under contract for at least another year and is unlikely to find a deal elsewhere that will pay him as much as the Hammers.

It also isn’t as if he has done well at Genoa, having made just 15 appearances across two loan spells and scored only two Serie A goals.

That doesn’t show to Nuno Espirito Santo that he has a player in his ranks that he could get use out of next season.

It will certainly be interesting to see what the Portuguese head coach will do with Cornet, although it feels as if a clean break will be beneficial for all parties.