West Ham could have a battle on their hands to keep hold of some of the club’s best players this summer.
After a disappointing season, Graham Potter has a major squad rebuild on his hands if he is to be successful in returning the Hammers to where David Moyes had led them just a couple of years ago.
He has already sanctioned the exits of Aaron Cresswell, Lukasz Fabianski, Vladimir Coufal and Danny Ings following the expiration of their contracts, while Carlos Soler and Evan Ferguson have been sent back to their parent clubs after underwhelming loan spells.
But there is expected to be other first-team players heading for the London Stadium exit door as the club seeks to balance the books and satisfy PSR regulations after a £150m transfer splurge last summer didn’t deliver a good enough ROI.
We already know that Mohammed Kudus is one of the most wanted players in east London right now, with Chelsea already having a player-plus-cash deal rejected by the Hammers. Meanwhile, depending on the outcome of his spot-fixing trial, Lucas Paqueta could also be on his way out of the club.
Then there’s the future of Tomas Soucek, who is reportedly wanted by Leeds United and available for around £20m, which remains in question.
So it’s likely there will be a huge squad churn at London Stadium this summer.
Jarrod Bowen exit not ruled out, but “hard to do”
Jarrod Bowen scores against Man United
One player who we know is definitely not for sale is club captain Jarrod Bowen.
The forward was once again West Ham’s best player this season after registering 24 goal contributions in 36 first-team appearances.
His importance to West Ham is already priceless, while the five years remaining on his contract means any club would have to pay a premium to prise him away from east London.
But there is, of course, interest in his services, according to Daily Telegraph Northern Football Writer, Luke Edwards.
Edwards admitted on X that the Magpies have been interested in Bowen since at least last summer but went on to explain that he would be “very, very expensive.” He also mentions that Bowen is settled with family in Essex, having recently married Dani Dyer.
Edwards’ comments won’t come as much of a surprise to anyone and he was certainly absolutely correct in his assessment of Bowen’s availability. He would no doubt cost any serious bidder well over £100m to convince West Ham into selling, and then they would have the very difficult task of convincing Bowen to leave the capital and uproot his settled family elsewhere.
That’s why it’s a “hard to do.”
Edwards did also name Kudus as a player Newcastle should be targeting this summer. While the Ghana international has an £85m release clause to Premier League clubs, it’s unlikely it would take that fee for West Ham to agree to a sale, especially if reports that the 24-year-old wants to leave are true.
Given Newcastle’s newly found financial power, despite PSR regulations somewhat hampering their determination to spend, it would not be a surprise if they tried to sign at least one of Kudus or Bowen this summer.