Battle HAMMER Ashton tells Moyes he
EXCLUSIVE
DEAN ASHTON fears West Ham are on the brink of financial ruin.
The Hammers have spent lavishly in recent seasons but sit 16th in the Premier League, level on points with Bournemouth who are in the bottom three.
And former striker Ashton thinks relegation would be a near fatal blow to his old club.
Sebastien Haller was a £45million arrival from Eintracht Frankfurt last summer, along with £24m
Spain international Pablo
Fornals from Villarreal.
The duo joined Felipe Anderson and Issa Diop, who cost £36m and £22m in 2018 respectively.
But having assembled a star-studded squad at a huge cost, Manuel Pellegrini was sent packing in December after a dismal run of form. David Moyes was drafted in for his second stint at the club following a short tenure in the London Stadium hotseat before the Chilean. Despite an initial upturn, the East Londoners were only outside the drop zone on goal difference when the season was paused due to the coronavirus outbreak.
And Ashton has warned that bosses David Gold, David Sullivan and Karren Brady face dire consequences if Moyes doesn’t keep the club in the Premier League. “When you see back-toback relegations – as we’ve seen with Norwich and Sunderland – it’s generally because of poor financial planning,” he said.
“It would be an absolute disaster for West Ham if they’re relegated this season, there’s no doubt about that.
“They have spent quite a bit of money and financially they would be in a difficult position.
“If they don’t start well as soon as football is back, they will be in big trouble.
“Nobody expected this at the start of the season. It looked like they’d be pushing for the top seven.
“But at West Ham they just seem to sign players that are available,