West Ham could oversee a host of exits when the winter window reopens for business, including some pretty noteworthy names.
January is set to be vital for Nuno Espirito Santo and co, with reports suggesting that chairman David Sullivan and the board are prepared to back their new manager to the hilt.
West Ham United manager Nuno Espirito Santo reacts
The Hammers have just been given some real encouragement they can avoid a dreaded drop to the Championship, having secured back-to-back home wins for the first time since October last year whilst scoring six goals in their last two games.
West Ham's results in the Premier League so far
Sunderland 3-0 West Ham
West Ham 1-5 Chelsea
Nottingham Forest 0-3 West Ham
West Ham 0-3 Tottenham
West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace
Everton 1-1 West Ham
Arsenal 2-0 West Ham
West Ham 0-2 Brentford
Leeds 2-1 West Ham
West Ham 3-1 Newcastle
West Ham 3-2 Burnley
West Ham's crucial wins over Newcastle and Burnley at the London Stadium have relieved some major pressure on Nuno, with the January window set to hand him another potential lifeline amid reports that the club are looking to sign a new defender and striker at the very least.
Nuno has also been given "confirmation" that West Ham will have money to spend mid-season (Sky Sports), and ExWHUemployee has backed this up recently whilst confirming that the club are scouting heavily in Belgium.
“There will be a budget to spend in January, with a striker and defender seen as the priority,” Ex stated, via West Ham Way.
“We understand that the club are not going to appoint an external Head of Recruitment, with the view of working from within. The club are quite rightly identifying targets now, and we believe that there are players who play in Belgium that we are showing interest in. I can report that Romeo Vermant a striker for Club Brugge is someone the club are looking at.”
That being said, incomings are not the only item on West Ham's agenda at the turn of the year.
After being axed from the squad, pretty much immediately after Nuno replaced Graham Potter, midfielder James Ward-Prowse is now resigned to leaving in January, despite being a vice-captain and first-team regular at the start of 2025/2026.
The 30-year-old, who is just one free-kick goal away from equalling David Beckham's all-time Premier League record of 18, is not in Nuno's long-term plans.
james-ward-prowse-west-ham-premier-league
Meanwhile, The Times recently reported that Lucas Paqueta is keen to leave West Ham in the winter, with Fabrizio Romano also stating in his GiveMeSport newsletter that an exit for the Brazil international isn't ruled out in the slightest.
"It's a possibility, as it was at the end of August," Romano said.
"It's not a guarantee, as it depends on West Ham, but Paqueta can be open to that solution. At the moment, it's still early to mention concrete clubs."
Now, as per a report from El Intransigente, midfielder Guido Rodriguez could follow them out the door.
Guido Rodriguez wants to leave West Ham in January
The Argentine, signed on a free deal from Real Betis last year, is another who's suffered from Nuno's axe — having managed just 19 minutes of action since the tactician's arrival.
Guido-Rodriguez
Guido Rodriguez
He was largely a bench player under Potter as well, and El Intransigente reports that Rodriguez is looking to leave West Ham as he aims to battle his way into Argentina's squad for the 2026 World Cup.
River Plate boss Marcelo Gallardo also "dreams" of signing Rodriguez and could offer him a route out of London, but he isn't alone, as Real Betis, Espanyol and Club América are also actively targeting the 31-year-old World Cup winner whose contract expires at the end of the season.
West Ham could be forced to sell him on the cheap in January because of this, but considering they signed him on a Bosman deal in 2024, any fee received for Rodriguez would go down as pure profit through the lens of PSR.
Selling him is a real no-brainer, and Sullivan will be particularly keen to get his £75,000-per-week wages off the books to free up space for a potential striker.
As well as Rodriguez, Ward-Prowse and Paqueta, it is believed that Niclas Fullkrug has told West Ham he wants a January transfer, so they'll need to replace the German.