KIERAN MAGUIRE: WEST HAM COULD NOW BE ABOUT TO AGREE MULTIPLE OUT-OF-WINDOW DEALS
West Ham can use their new affiliate club in Austria to loan players currently not eligible to play in the Premier League.
That is the view of finance expert Kieran Maguire, who spoke exclusively to Football Insider about the benefits West Ham will receive from having an affiliate club in Europe.
As reported by the Daily Mail, the Irons have begun a partnership with Austrian club Klagenfurt after striking a deal for midfielder Andy Irving.
Irving’s deal is said to be part of a larger deal between the two clubs that will see Klagenfurt become an affiliate club to the Londoners.
West Ham’s deal makes them the latest Premier League outfit to partner with an affiliate club – a strategy also employed by Brighton who have partnered with Union SG.
Maguire explains that an affiliate club will provide West Ham the opportunity to give players additional experience so they qualify for a Governing Body Endorsement which is required to play in England.
“If West Ham do acquire an affiliate club it will give them more flexibility in terms of talent recruitment,” Maguire told Football Insider’s Sean Fisher.
“If they spot a player that doesn’t have sufficient GBE points to be registered in England immediately, they can use the affiliate club as a holding area to give the player more experience perhaps domestically and internationally.
“Then once they have enough points to qualify for a GBE they can be brought to the London Stadium and introduced to the first team.
“We are seeing more and more of this moving forward.
“Clubs and owners are pooling resources in order to maximise long-term cash flows.“
