Irons don’t believe Arnie transfer saga is over
Despite the deal with Guangzhou Evergrande being thought to have collapsed, the Irons are still in a state of readiness believing that the second placed club in the Chinese Super League will be back.
They also believe that nothing is set to happen this week but that an improved offer of closer to €50 million could arrive in over the last few days of the transfer window.
The heat is off for the time being as with the FA Cup clash against AFC Wimbledon coming up this weekend it’s likely that rising star Xande Silva will get a chance.
And although the Chinese transfer window doesn’t close until the end of February the Hammers fully expect Evergrande to test their resolve in the last few days of the domestic window.
ClaretandHugh has established that various talks between Arnie and manager Manuel Pellegrini have taken place and that the boss left the player out of last Saturday’s game at Bournemouth after the pair agreed the striker was not in the right frame of mind.
We were told by a top Hammers source by e-mail: “It’s been suggested Arnie refused to travel but that’s not the case – he and the manager agreed he was not in the right frame of mind.
“Beyond that, we don’t believe the transfer situation is over and expect Evergrande to come back closer to the end of our window.”