West Ham’s negotiators led, by David Sullivan, refused to give way on any sort of escape clause when pushed to the limits in seriously tough negotiations.
Having spent weeks agreeing a fee of around £10.8 million with Marseilles, negotiations on the player’s deal were equally fierce .
And the Irons made it clear throughout that there could be no ‘get out’ clauses if they were to offer the brilliant French midfielder the cash terms he wanted.
A high level source told ClaretandHugh exclusively: “There was no budging on get outs. There was no question of any escape clauses.
“The negotiations were incredibly hard and eventually a five year deal was hammered out with a year’s option in the club’s favour.
“We think he is the real deal and is a player around whom things will revolve. We couldn’t therefore even consider giving way on a single escape clause. His deal is 100 per cent watertight.”