West Ham pursuit of Portuguese forward set to hit financial roadblock



West Ham United’s pursuit of Portuguese forward Jota looks set to hit a financial snag. 

The Hammers have been heavily linked with the 25-year-old in recent months and, according to Foot Mercato journalist Santi Aouna, even agreed personal terms in January before a move collapsed.

Interest remains with Jota unable to play for Saudi club Al-Ittihad after being dropped from the squad due to the rules in the country and Asia as a whole regarding foreign players.

Jota joined Al-Ittihad from Celtic for £25m in July 2023 (per Sky Sports), netting five goals in 29 appearances since. However, he now finds himself out of favour, with Luiz Felipe, N’Golo Kante, Fabinho, Karim Benzema and Houssem Aouar the foreign players seeing minutes ahead of him.

That was understood to have opened up the possibility of Jota becoming available on the loan market and alongside West Ham, former club Celtic are thought to be interested.

However, according to the Daily Record, Al-Ittihad want Jota’s full £190,000 per week wages covered by any club signing the player on loan.

Jota of Al Ittihad runs during the Saudi Pro League match between Al-Ittihad and Al-Taawoun at King Abdullah Sport City Stadium on April 5, 2024 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

According to Salary Sport, Celtic’s highest-paid player last season was midfielder Callum McGregor at £37,000 per week. Meanwhile, Lucas Paqueta came out as West Ham’s top earner at £130,000.

Those two salaries combined wouldn’t reach the figure Jota currently earns, meaning it’s highly unlikely either club would be able to afford or sanction such a deal.

According to the Sunday Mirror (via Hammers.News), West Ham could turn their attention to Arsenal’s Reiss Nelson as a possible alternative to Jota.