West Ham braced for huge transfer fire sale and face losing £100m-plus of stars

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West Ham are facing a huge £100m-plus fire sale this summer if they go down.

England winger Jarrod Bowen will be a target for the likes of Newcastle and potentially Everton if West Ham go down.

Portugal midfielder Mateus Fernandes is also attracting big interest with Arsenal the latest team to check on him but Manchester United and Paris Saint Germain are also among the top clubs keeping tabs.

They are likely to stick with manager Nuno Espirito Santo if they go down which would be the first time they are relegated since 2011. And that fate could happen as quickly as Tuesday night if Tottenham win at Chelsea because West Ham’s defeat at Newcastle leaves the club on the brink.

The bigger worry for West Ham is the financial blow because they have a huge stadium, big wage bill and big name players. They will instantly lose on-loan Chelsea defender Axel Disasi who has made a huge impact but will not want to stay in the Championship.

However, the sale is not about players pushing to go but West Ham trying to balance the books and relegation will hit them hard.

That is why Bowen - despite clearly putting his heart on the line for the club - may have to be sacrificed despite being a huge fan favourite.

Bowen, 29, was a £22m signing in 2020 by former boss David Moyes and scored the winner in the Europa Conference League final.

But keeping him will be tough with big clubs circling will be tough and he also has his England ambitions ahead of the World Cup.

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Fernandes, 21, was signed from Southampton for £42m last summer and, despite a slow start and the club’s problems, he has been a huge hit and has caught the eye of big clubs.

They are likely to try and make a huge profit on Fernandes but will also know clubs will realise they have to sell.

But the implications are huge for one of the Premier League ’s biggest clubs to go down in recent seasons and they may lose their best players and best hopes to get straight back up.

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