West Ham co-chairman David Sullivan has revealed that the Hammers do not have the finances to take a gamble on Newcastle United target Charlie Austin.
Austin was one of the more impressive English strikers on show last season and despite Queens Park Rangers’ relegation, he managed to grab eyeballs with his goalscoring feats.
He scored 18 Premier League goals for QPR last term, more than any other English player other than Harry Kane, and he was expected to attract interest from clubs in the top tier.
However, despite interest from clubs such as Newcastle United, Austin has failed to find a new team in the Premier League and has started the season in the Championship at Loftus Road.
And now even West Ham have pulled out of the race to secure the 26-year-old from their fellow London club.
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West Ham co-chairman Sullivan has said that with regards to Austin’s history of knee problems, the club are not prepared to gamble £15m on the QPR striker.
He stressed that they do not have the kind of a budget where they can take a big money risk on a player with a history of injuries.
Speaking to KUMB West Ham podcast, the club’s co-chairman said: “Firstly, we haven't got £15m to spend under the fair play rules.
“Secondly, he failed a medical at Hull a couple of years ago. They say he has no ligaments in his knee, who knows? To sign a player for £15m is a big risk.
“He could go on for years, but knowing our luck his knee will go in his first game and that's the end of it!
“If we had £100m to spend we may say 'we'll spend £15m and gamble one-sixth of our budget'. But it's not one-sixth of our budget, it'd smash our budget to bits.”
Newcastle United have secured Aleksandar Mitrovic from Anderlecht but there is speculation that they still have an interest in the English striker, with one agent having claimed Austin is St James' Park bound.
Austin has started the season well at QPR and has already bagged two goals in three Championship appearances.
