West Ham United are set for a massive financial boost by landing a new shirt sponsorship deal before the weekend.

The Mirror says West Ham are close to announcing some good financial news - for a change - with the signing of a £3.5million sponsorship deal.

The imminent announcement of a new shirt sponsor will be very welcome news after travel company XL went into administration last month, leaving a £5m gap in their finances.

A £7.5m deal, worth £2.5m a year, was signed in February 2007 but only one year of the contract had been paid into the East Londoners' coffers. Since then the Hammers have played with patches sewn over the XL logos on the first-team shirts.

A club source said: "We hope to have the new sponsor on our shirts on Sunday for the match at Hull City."