West Ham have agreed a five-year contract with sportswear brand New Balance, according to reports.

Sport Business claim that the American company (which is worth $6.5billion as of 2023) will take over as the Hammers’ kit supplier at the start of the 2026/27 season.

Umbro have made the London club’s shirts since the beginning of the 2015/16 campaign and their current deal is set to expire next year.

The company is set to disappear from football kits due to an agreement reached with Castore so West Ham decided to put their deal out for tender, which New Balance won.

What is happening to Umbro?

In March last year, the owner of the Umbro band GL Dameck signed a deal with Castore which would let them take over its contracts.

Any club that wears Umbro kits would be handed over to Castore at the end of their current deals (West Ham’s agreement with Umbro expires in 2026), although each team would still have the right to seek another kit supplier, which is an option the Irons took.

West Ham will be getting a kit manufacturer who can handle big clubs

New Balance are no strangers to supplying kits for Premier League teams. They had a partnership with Liverpool which lasted for eight seasons. However, the Reds’ decision to sign with Nike in 2020 resulted in a legal battle which the American sportswear company lost.

Many would still regard them as a better option than Castore, who have been caught up in numerous controversies over the years.

The kit problems that Aston Villa encountered at the start of last season stick in the memory, while Newcastle and other clubs have also faced issues while using the kit maker in recent years.

Click here to see West Ham’s first team squad for the 2024/25 season