West Ham actually ‘don’t have the finances’ required to sign ‘outstanding’ player this summer

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West Ham United have had an interesting summer transfer window so far.

Graham Potter needs to get things right at the London Stadium after a very disappointing campaign since he took over last time out.

Mohammed Kudus has been sold to Tottenham, but Kyle Walker-Peters and El Hadji Malick Diouf have been brought to the club. Jean Clair Todibo’s loan has been made permanent as well.

West Ham need more signings, and a Premier League-proven midfielder has been heavily linked. But, there is now a problem.

West Ham ‘don’t have the finances’ to sign Douglas Luiz permanently

Douglas Luiz is expected to leave Juventus this summer.

The former Aston Villa star only joined the Serie A giants in the summer of 2024, but after playing just 877 minutes of football last term, a move is expected.

West Ham have been heavily linked with a move to sign Luiz, and talks have been ongoing with Juventus over a deal.

However, the Irons’ attempts to sign the Brazilian on loan, covering only a portion of his wages, have been ‘shut down’ by the Bianconeri, who want a permanent exit.

That’s according to GiveMeSport, who also claim that West Ham ‘do not have the finances to meet the terms required’ to sign Luiz permanently.

The ‘outstanding‘ 27-year-old is said to be earning over £150,000 per week at Juventus, including bonuses, and that is “threatening to become a significant stumbling block for the Hammers as they are not in a position to hand him similar terms or cover the entirety of his pay package”.

The report says that West Ham remain keen to land Luiz, but there is an acceptance behind the scenes that they could be left ‘frustrated’ in their pursuit of the Brazil international.

Finance expert reveals why West Ham aren’t spending despite Mohammed Kudus’ sale

West Ham agreed a £55 million deal with Tottenham Hotspur for Kudus earlier in July.

That is a significant amount of money, and fans have been hoping that David Sullivan and co will use that cash to reinforce the squad.

However, after GMS reported that West Ham do not have the funds required to sign Luiz, TBR Football asked GRV Media’s Head of Football Finance and Governance Content, Adam Williams, what’s going on.

He said: “When we’re looking at whether West Ham can afford to spend, you have to consider three broad factors:

• Do they have the PSR capacity?
• Do they have the cash available?
• Are the owners willing to front the cash?

“In terms of PSR, West Ham are fine, despite what they regularly brief to the press. I think their stance there is more about expectation management with fans, to be frank.

“With cash, we have to make some assumptions – for example, we know that Tottenham like to pay in instalments, so they probably haven’t got much of the Kudus money upfront.

“Still, the owners can put money into the club if they need greater liquidity, plus West Ham can also negotiate to sign players on instalments too.

“So, I think reluctance to spend is more down to the owners’ whims rather than PSR or factors outside their control.”