West Ham’s relegation to the Championship is expected to kickstart a huge squad upheaval this summer.
With the club announcing record losses of over £104m earlier this year, it was already common knowledge that players would need to be sold to raise funds and plug the financial hole.
But relegation inevitably further emphasises the club’s need to balance the books this summer.
As a result, speculation surrounding who will stay and who will be sold has never been stronger.
The likes of Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville are almost certainly on their way out of London Stadium, while Axel Disasi is unlikely to make his loan spell from Chelsea permanent. Callum Wilson and Adama Traore are also expected to call time on their short Hammers careers.
But the club already knows which of its first team players it wants to convince to stay to help win promotion back to the Premier League.
Five players on West Ham’s keep list
Guardian journalist Jacob Steinberg revealed on Wednesday that West Ham have wishes to keep five players in particular.
They are Mads Hermanson, Konstaninos Mavropanos, Tomas Soucek, Jarrod Bowen and Taty Catellanos.
This comes after the club’s hierarchy successful convinced manager Nuno Espirito Santo to stay in charge.
There remains big questions marks over the futures of Bowen and Castellanos, with it being revealed last week that the latter had no intention of playing in England’s second-tier.
But Hermanson, Mavropanos and Soucek all seem like realistic options to keep at the club beyond the summer.
Those five players represent a very strong, Premier League-level spine to build around for Nuno, who will already be looking at how he can establish West Ham as strong favourites for an immediate return to the top-flight.
Steinberg does stress, though, that while the club wants to keep those players, it’s not a guarantee that they will, with Bowen and Soucek’s futures especially uncertain.
The reporter also admits that both Niclas Fullkrug and Edson Alvarez will be sold in the coming months.