West Ham are ready to push their summer spending through the £30 million barrier as they continue  pursuing Sunderland striker Connor Wickham.

So far the Hammers owners have invested close to £25 million with the arrivals of Enner Valencia ( £12 million),  Cheikhou Kayoute (£8 million), Aaron Cresswell (£3.75m) and Diego Poyet (£700,00).

Now ClaretandHugh understands that David Sullivan and David Gold are considering making a £6m bid for Wickham as they bid to consolidate in the Premier League.

But the £30 odd million splashed on signings doesn’t reflect the true cost for in every case there are agents to be paid which can account for up to another £3-£4 million.

An Irons source told ClaretandHugh “If we get Wickham then  the spend this summer will have passed all previous by the club.

“When you realise that there are all the ‘hidden’ payments to agents and so on it shows the level of commitment.”

Sunderland boss Gus Poyet is moving heaven and earth to hold onto Wickham and the Irons negotiators reckon their chances of getting the player are no better than 50/50.

But whatever the outcome they are ready to push hard for another striker and leave previous spending records behind them.