The January transfer window represents West Ham’s big chance to save themselves from relegation and Nuno Espirito Santo could be handed over £50m to spend, Hammers News can reveal.

• Hammers News exclusive

Nuno Espirito Santo has made clear progress on the pitch since replacing Graham Potter at West Ham.

But the biggest factor influencing whether West Ham survive in the Premier League this season could come off the pitch, in the transfer market this January.

The Hammers board have vowed to back Nuno in the January transfer window with a new striker the absolute top priority.

Forwards aren’t cheap, though, and West Ham’s financial situation has been the subject of many headlines over the last year.

Signing quality players in January is hard enough as it is, let alone when money is tight and you have to persuade them to sign up for a relegation battle.

West Ham’s financial position making headlines

West Ham must pull some rabbits out of the hat in the transfer window if they are to give themselves hope of survival.

The club had to sell in order to be able to buy in the summer and there have been noises from the corridors of power that concerns over a potential future PSR breach were very real.

However, West Ham’s top brass are insisting they will be active in the window.

But what will that look like in real terms for West Ham in January?

Which position do West Ham need to strengthen the most and why? Who is your dream January signing?

Given West Ham’s position in the table, loans with options or obligations to buy based on Premier League survival will undoubtedly be the club’s preferred modus operandi in any deals.

Hammers News has spoken to GRV Media’s Head of Football Finance and Governance Adam Williams for an exclusive insight on West Ham’s financial position and potential budget for January.

What Williams doesn’t know about football finance probably isn’t worth knowing.

And he has revealed West Ham could spend £50m-plus in January as the PSR revolution exposes the truth about Nuno’s budget.

West Ham could spend £50m-plus in January says finance expert

Indeed Williams suggests the club’s board may have been overplaying how bad the financial landscape is for West Ham.

“West Ham haven’t had anywhere to hide with PSR for a while now,” Williams exclusively told Hammers News.

“They haven’t been close to the limit in any of the recent three-year assessment periods.

“We haven’t got the accounts for 2024-25 yet, but I’d expect them to swing back to a pretty chunky loss after a very healthy profit in 2023-24, but when you add back allowable expenditure on infrastructure, the academy and women’s team, they have a very large cushion in the current PSR window.

“That means that they can certainly afford to do significant business in January, if the owners sanction it.

“Whether or not they spend in the transfer window will be more to do with cold, hard cash than their PSR position. When you look at where they are in the table, it might be a question of whether they can afford not to strengthen. I can certainly envisage a situation where they spend £50m-plus on a couple of change-making new signings.

“If you look at their amortisation in recent years – which is how football clubs account for transfers over a player’s contract length – they are in the top half of the Premier League and not too far behind the likes of Newcastle and Villa. It’s more a question of how the money has been spent.

How impressed have you been by Nuno? And where do you think West Ham will finish this season?

PSR revolution exposes truth about Nuno’s budget

“I do think that a more ambitious ownership regime would push the wage bill up, however. There is generally more of a correlation between the wage bill and success on the pitch than there is with net spend records.

“There’s a block of non-Big Six clubs who are now going to spend £200m-plus on wages every season. West Ham were at £161m at the last count, so there’s room for growth there.

“As far as the new SCR system is concerned, I agree with the board that it should work in West Ham’s favour in the long run.

“They are one of the clubs who have a very high revenue ceiling in terms of matchday and commercial income, and those are the teams who SCR will favour.”