West Ham's hunt for forward reinforcements in January will be restricted by Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations, with the club determined to avoid following in Everton’s footsteps.
The Hammers’ lack of depth up front has been exposed by knee injuries to Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio during the international break, and while the former’s problem is understood to be minor, it is feared Antonio is set for a significant spell on the sidelines.
As a result, the club will look to go back into the market when the transfer window opens in the New Year, but are wary of breaching financial rules after successive summers of heavy spending, albeit this year’s will be largely offset by the £105million sale of Declan Rice to Arsenal.
Everton were last week hit with a 10-point deduction over their breach of Premier League profit and sustainability limits, which restrict allowed losses to £105million over a rolling three-year period.
West Ham, last season’s Europa Conference League winners, must also adhere to UEFA’s regulations, which are stricter than the Premier League’s.
The Irons were added to UEFA’s FFP watchlist in September last year as the governing body prepared to phase out the additional leeway it offered to clubs during the Covid pandemic.
At the time, the club remained confident of complying with Uefa rules but any transfer activity continues to be monitored closely and Standard Sport understands that funds for a striker in January will be limited as a result.
West Ham did not sign a direct replacement for Gianluca Scamacca when the Italian was sold to Atalanta this summer, while David Moyes has been reluctant to put his faith in either Danny Ings or youngster Divin Mubama, neither of whom have started a Premier League game yet this term.
The injury that forced Bowen to miss England’s 1-1 draw with North Macedonia is not a major worry but Antonio suffered medial ligament damage while in action for Jamaica over the weekend and the club are expecting to find out the full extent of the issue on Tuesday.
Recovery from MCL injuries can take anywhere between three and 12 weeks, but West Ham are hopeful that Antonio’s absence will not be towards the harsher end of that scale.
Tomas Soucek is set to be available for Saturday’s trip to Burnley. Soucek suffered a nasty cut to the forehead during the Czech Republic’s draw with Poland on Friday and there had been concern he may have to enter concussion protocols but the midfielder was cleared to return and scored in Monday night’s win over Moldova.
