Fernandes deal was never ours to lose

There seems to be an inevitable meltdown on social media that Spurs are on the verge of hijacking a deal for Gedson Fernandes with all fingers pointed at the board for not sealing the deal earlier.

Of course, Sky Sports played their part in this story by exaggerating the transfer by suggesting the deal was agreed in principle while another social media account since deactivated suggested the player was on a plane to London to join up with the Hammers. Neither was true and the negotiations were at a much earlier stage than suggested.

The reports were premature and no deal had been reached between West Ham and Benefica as some suggested.

Like many other deals, this transfer has been agent led from day one and the youngster was offered to many Premier League clubs at the same time with a preference for a London club as his mother lives here.

The man in charge of  Fernandes future is super-agent Jorge Mendes, a man who is the former agent of Spurs manager Jose Mourinho. In April last year, Mourinho announced he had joined Jorge Mendes’ company as a “super player-agent” after having a career break from management.

At the time Mourinho said “I am super excited to become a super-agent. I’ve known Jorge for a long time so it’s a natural move as I treat players like they’re my own family. However, I’m not afraid to criticise a player whether in a football management role or as an agent. For example, Luke Shaw? Tubby. Pogba? More worried about haircuts than football. Ronaldo? A princess. I will though, secure them the best financial deals as football chairmen know how to pay me off”

So, it should come as no surprise that Mendes favors his old client and employee and if we are honest Spurs will be a  far greater draw for the player too. The sad truth is the deal was never 100% ours in the first place for Spurs to hijack.

It is sometimes hard to fantom the outburst of West Ham supporters on social media about a player they had never heard of three weeks ago, who is unproven in the Premier League and a player that David Moyes himself called one for the future. If West Ham are to avoid relegation we need to sign players for now with experience that can help us get out of trouble.