West Ham have spent some big money over the past few seasons, since earning a huge figure for their club captain (at the time), Declan Rice, who joined Arsenal in 2023 for a fee of around £105m. This enabled the Hammers to reinvest that money, looking to upgrade in multiple departments.
The 2023/24 season saw West Ham spend a total of €144.56m (£120.903m) bringing five new players to the club on permanent transfers, whilst the 2024/25 season was even busier, spending another €144.40m (£120.769m) on eight new signings, as well as a few loan deals with options to buy.
Jarrod Bowen
£150,000
Lucas Paqueta
£150,000
Danny Ings
£125,000
Alphonse Areola
£120,000
James Ward-Prowse
£115,000
Edson Alvarez
£100,000
Max Kilman
£100,000
Emerson
£95,000
Mohammed Kudus
£90,000
Aaron Wan-Bissaka
£90,000
Five of West Ham’s ten highest earners are from these two seasons of spending, with James Ward-Prowse, Edson Alvarez, Max Kilman, Mohammed Kudus, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka all being purchased in this timeframe. But their highest earner was bought back in 2020, which has proven to be excellent value for money signing over the years.
West Ham's highest earner
West Ham’s highest earner is clearly the benchmark here, after all, this article is all about the best signing since this man. Jarrod Bowen earns £150,000k per week, making him the joint highest earner at the club alongside Lucas Paqueta.
Bowen has made 229 appearances since joining the Hammers back in January 2020, scoring 68 goals for the club, providing 46 assists, and totaling 18,102 minutes played. The England international has shown his versatility playing as both a right-sided player and a striker, and is now West Ham’s club captain.
Finding another player who can match this type of value of a signing, costing the club around £20m five years ago, is always going to be tough, but West Ham seem to have struck gold once more in those forward areas, with a signing they made in the 2023 summer window.
West Ham's game-changing signing
West Ham signed Mohammed Kudus from Ajax in August 2023, joining the club for a fee of around £38m. Since his arrival, the 24-year-old has made 72 appearances for the London club, netting 17 goals, providing eight assists, and totaling 5,634 minutes played.
The Ghana international was valued at €40m (£33.5m) when he first joined the club, according to Transfermarkt, but according to GIVEMESPORT, West Ham could be set to receive a huge bid of around £84m for their superstar, with Al-Nassr reportedly making him a key target.
Goals
0.13
0.34
Assists
0.09
0.19
xG
0.27
0.26
xAG
0.10
0.21
Progressive Carries
3.57
3.42
Progressive Passes
2.90
3.13
Shots Total
2.64
2.87
Key Passes
1.04
1.77
Shot-Creating Actions
3.67
3.79
Successful Take-Ons
3.17
1.56
Kudus hasn’t had the best 2024/25 campaign so far, struggling to find the same heights as his debut season for the Hammers, but as you can see from his underlying metrics, he still outperforms Bowen in select areas, producing more progressive carries and successful take-ons, which speak to his direct nature.
Analyst Ben Mattinson described Kudus as a “game-changer” back in May 2024, stating that the forward can be a brilliant cover for all five attacking positions, which is something we have already seen at West Ham, with Kudus playing off of both flanks and centrally under David Moyes, Julen Lopetegui and Graham Potter.
Whilst Kudus may have cost a bit more than Bowen, but he is earning £60,000 less per week and is currently valued higher by Transfermarkt, making a good case for being their best signing since Bowen back in 2020 and showing that the Hammers hit the jackpot on the exciting forward.
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