‘Very forward-thinking’: Sullivan could earn West Ham ‘10s of millions’ with off-field strategy

David Sullivan’s insistence to insert a one-year extension clause in the deals of West Ham’s most important players could pay off, earning the club “10s of millions”, according to football finance guru Kieran Maguire (as per Football Insider).

A number of Irons players have received heavy transfer interest in recent weeks and months following their superb form in the Premier League and Europa League this season.

During the summer transfer window, reliable reporter James Pearce revealed that Liverpool were interested in signing Jarrod Bowen as they sought to bolster their attacking options, with Reds manager Jurgen Klopp a keen admirer of the West Ham forward.

More recently, vice-captain Declan Rice has been linked with a multitude of elite Premier League and European clubs, with statistics indicating that he has been the Hammers’ best player this season.

As per the Daily Mail, David Moyes and the east London club are confident of earning north of £100m for Rice due to his extension clause. The 23-year-old’s contract is set to run until the summer of 2024, but the club have the option of extending his deal for a further year.

Maguire has praised the West Ham co-owner for his shrewd business move regarding the extension clause. Speaking to Football Insider‘s Adam Williams, he said:

“As a general policy, it’s very forward-thinking.

“It could be worth extra 10s of millions and it helps West Ham protect the value of their assets. At the same time, it de-risks things if they go wrong.

“There is always a danger if you sign a player on a very long contract and he doesn’t perform. You have that commitment there to pay the wages.

“Once you have identified which players are your most valuable, you can trigger the extension and that