West Ham’s current wage structure represents good value, with their best players earning the highest figures (mostly), with very few players presenting poor value for money with their wage packages.
Danny Ings is perhaps the most eye-catching at the top end of the wage list, earning £125k-per-week, the third highest at the club, despite playing more of a bit-part role.
The average wages in the squad are between £70,000-£100,000, with ten players earning between these two figures, including Max Kilman, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Niklas Fullkrug, and Mohammed Kudus.
Lucas Paqueta
£150,000
Jarrod Bowen
£150,000
Danny Ings
£125,000
Alphonse Areola
£120,000
Max Kilman
£100,000
Edson Alvarez
£100,000
Emerson
£95,000
Niclas Füllkrug
£90,000
Aaron Wan-Bissaka
£90,000
Mohamed Kudus
£90,000
The two highest earners in the squad, both making £150,000 per week, are Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta, largely seen as two of the Hammers’ best players.
Bowen and Paqueta's form in 2024/25
Bowen made 44 appearances last campaign, scoring 20 goals and providing ten assists in his 3,842 minutes played. It was a brilliant campaign in which the England winger was rewarded with a place in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the Euros, with his value rising all the way to £42m as per Transfermarkt.
Paqueta, on the other hand, made 43 appearances last season, scoring eight goals, providing seven assists, and totalling 3,478 minutes played. The Brazilian is valued at a similar price tag by Transfermarkt, sitting at £46m.
Both players have started this season in a slower fashion. The skipper has three goals and provided two assists in his first nine appearances, which isn’t too bad, but Paqueta has scored just twice in his nine appearances so far.
That said, neither are quite as valuable as a certain Mohamed Kudus.
Mohammed Kudus' market value in 2024
Kudus, who was signed from Ajax for £38m last summer by David Moyes has been on quite the rise to stardom since moving to English football.
Such has been his productive form in the famous claret and blue that fellow Premier League sides such as Manchester City and Arsenal are sniffing around a player who boasts a larger market value than Bowne and Co with the Ghanain’s release clause sitting a pretty £85m.
Since joining the club, the 24-year-old has made 54 appearances for the club, scoring 15 goals and providing seven assists in 4,118 minutes played.
So, why is the hard-working player worth more than Bowen and Paqueta? Well, this could be due to his profile being slightly rarer and desirable for top clubs who want to add pace in transition, efficient attackers, and forwards that work hard for the team out of possession.
Goals
0.15
0.34
0.31
Assists
0.15
0.23
0.00
xG
0.33
0.15
0.34
xAG
0.13
0.33
0.10
Progressive Carries
5.47
3.88
1.03
Progressive Passes
2.34
3.88
6.72
Shots Total
3.09
2.73
1.54
Key Passes
0.78
2.84
1.38
Tackles
1.09
1.19
1.72
Blocks
1.41
0.90
1.21
Bowen and Paqueta are both 27 years old, whereas Kudus is just 24 years old, which does play a part in the valuation of players, so this is important to consider on top of the stats above.
Indeed, the metrics also show why Kudus is so valuable, putting in big defensive shifts, whilst still offering excellent goal threat, pace on the break, and driving his team forwards, shown by his 5.47 progressive carries per 90 which are streets ahead of his colleagues.
A carry is considered progressive if the ball is moved towards the opponent’s goal at least 10 yards from its starting point or is carried into the penalty area.
Kudus may not be West Ham’s most important player, but you can certainly see why he is so highly valued, and we could just see some of the “big six” begin to circle for his signature soon.
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