Nils Koppen faces a brutal first summer as Director of Recruitment at West Ham, with his in‑tray dominated by four major departures that include Maxwel Cornet, Niclas Fullkrug, Edson Alvarez and James Ward‑Prowse.
To shift all four, he’ll need more than strategy, he’ll need sorcery!
West Ham astonishingly spent approximately £117m on this quartet. Even worse, their wage commitments spiralled: Cornet on £65k per week, Fullkrug £90k, Alvarez £100k, and Ward‑Prowse £115k. Combined, that’s an annual bill of £19.24m, thankfully halved in the Championship. *Source: Estimated wages, Capology.
Flopped in two countries – Niclas Fullkrug
Alvarez, as we reported earlier has made his intentions clear. He wants out, but with two years left on his deal and £50k per week guaranteed next season, the Mexico international may have to prioritise regular football over maintaining his salary as he approaches his 29th birthday later this year.
Cornet’s situation is even more precarious. With just a year left on his contract, he has endured 499 days injured since joining in 2022, according to transfermkt, including seven separate injuries during his loan at Genoa last season. Any buyer will need nerves of steel!
Ward‑Prowse, contracted until 2027, is nowhere near the first‑team picture under Nuno, and spent some of last season on loan at Burnley. His future depends entirely on whether a Premier League club is willing to take a gamble. Maybe one of the promoted teams will show some interest?
Ward Prowse was a constant selection under Potter but Nuno doesn’t want him – the revenge of ‘baldy’?
Fullkrug, meanwhile, is wanted in Germany, but West Ham’s insistence on a minimum fee has stalled progress. At 33, having scored once in 20 games on loan at AC Milan and missing out on Germany’s World Cup squad, his market is limited.
For Koppen, this isn’t just a recruitment challenge, it’s a financial detox. Clearing the remnants of West Ham’s most wasteful era is essential if the club is to rebuild with purpose, discipline and identity. The scale of the task is daunting, but success here would instantly validate his appointment and give West Ham the clean slate they desperately need.
No pressure then Koppen!
Ummm … selling players isn’t “recruitment”
Agree with DJ , moyes bought a lot of donkeys , in fact valsic failed at Everton and moyes bought him again . Feel more optimistic now .
3/4 signed off by Moyes, Matt, if you delve deeper and included Scamacca, Benrahma, Vlasic the numbers are horrendous in the loss column.
To compound matters we then had the JLo Steitden fiasco.
SMH.
The entire GSB era has been an epic fail, we’re worse off now than before they got their grubby hands on the keys to the Boleyn ground.