West Ham United are on the up with a shiny new 60,000 seater stadium but still lag way behind their rivals in terms of spending in the Premier League era.
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic
West Ham United have been busy over the summer with Slaven Bilic reshaping his squad.
The Hammers were linked with all and sundry over the last few months as the club geared up for its inaugural season at the 60,000-seater Olympic Stadium – now referred to as the London Stadium.
They signed Manuel Lanzini, Havard Nordtveit, Toni Martinez, Domingos Quina, Sofiane Feghouli, Ashley Fletcher, Gokhan Tore (loan), Arthur Masuaku, Jonathan Calleri (loan), Edimilson Ferdnandes, Alvaro Arbeloa and broke their transfer record with the £20.5 signing of Andre Ayew from Swansea City.
Simone Zaza
That record will be broken again if loan signing Simeone Zaza plays the 15 games which will trigger West Ham’s obligation to buy him for £25m from Juventus.
Now research by bettingexpert.com has lifted the lid on the money laid out on transfers by all 20 of this season’s top flight clubs from the start of the Premier League era.
The league was formed in 1992 and bettingexpert.com has charted the transfer expenditure right up to the start of this summer.
It has revealed that West Ham sit right in the middle of the pack in ninth place having spent a total of £353 million.
At well over a quarter of a billion, it may sound like big money.
West Ham’s Dimitri Payet
But it pales into insignificance compared to the nine clubs ahead of them in the table.
For example the Hammers’ bitter rivals Tottenham (fifth) have spent nearly £900m – that’s £200m more than their arch enemies Arsenal (sixth).
While Spurs have been more successful than West Ham over the Premier League period, they have won the same number of league titles as the Hammers in that time… zero… not a great return on their money in comparison.
The Gunners, though, have lifted three league titles in that time.
Chelsea (£1.28bn), Manchester City (over £1bn), Manchester United (£991m) and Liverpool (£978m) make up the top four.
Everton and Sunderland are also above the Hammers in the spending league, but Slaven Bilic’s side will leapfrog Sunderland if – as expected – Zaza’s £25m move from Juventus is triggered this season.
West Ham co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold
Of course spending is no guarantee for success and conversely buying the right players is the most crucial factor as Leicester City proved last season.
But a look at the table does suggest you get what you pay for in terms of average league position over the years.
West Ham are no longer a selling club under David Sullivan and David Gold and have assembled what many fans believe is the strongest squad in living memory on paper.
But to truly challenge the elite – which is the aim after their stadium move after all – the research shows just how big a gap the club must bridge.
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