ClaretandHugh can confirm the deal to bring Cheikhou Kouyate to West Ham is unwinding and the chances of it happening are now around 25 per cent!Rumours have been circulating in the European press all day that the deal was in trouble and that has now been confirmed to us by a trusted Upton Park source.
The Anderlecht defender – heavily wooed by Valencia before the Hammers stepped in – now looks likely to opt for the Spanish club after they returned with a bid of around nine million euros.
The big defender/midfielder had been expected to arrive in London for a medical tomorrow but Valencia made a late move and appear to have hijacked the deal.
The ClaretandHugh’s source said: “The deal began to unwind on Friday night and has gone from 90 per cent to 25 but we have many players we are trying to bring in.”
But of course, and we won’t go back and offer more for him because as long as G and S can say well we tried they think that is enough. We will end up with dross and those not wanted anywhere else and another season of rubbish under a manager who should have been shown the door this summer. Our transfers over the last few years have been truly awful and it looks like continuing. So much for signing the player that was going to excite us!!
Yep as soon as Sullivan boasted about this great deal was imininent I knew it was unlikely to happen. If it were so certain within a few days why not wait. If on the other hand you are only interested in raising expectations and season ticket sales and the deal was already in doubt then why not announce it just so everyone knows you are ‘trying’ so damn hard just to tip people into buying their tickets quick, of course having been softened for a week about how they are in heavy demand, gaining some nice income before the inevitable announcement of failure. Didn’t we have the same last year? Fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me.
His ability to play in two positions would surely warrant us matching the tabled offer. If his desire to play Premier League football is so strong I am sure he would be willing to be on discounted wages (our main issue as you have discussed). I hope this deal goes through.