West Ham United hold up in permanent Craig Dawson exit to Wolves
Craig Dawson will not be able to play for Wolves this weekend because his exit has been delayed at the West Ham end, Alex Crook reports.
The centre-back almost left the London Stadium in the summer as he wanted to move closer to his family, but ultimately was kept in David Moyes’ squad amid injury to Nayef Aguerd and a scramble to replace Issa Diop with Thilo Kehrer.
A £3.3million deal has now been agreed for the January window but an unspecified hold up with the Irons will prevent the 32-year-old from being available for Sunday’s trip to face Manchester City (22 January).
Reporting on Twitter on Friday morning (20 January) talkSPORT’s Crook wrote: “Craig Dawson deal will not be done in time for him to feature for Wolves this weekend. Understand hold up is WHUFC end.”
Frustrated
Whether Wolves are boosted for a daunting trip to the Etihad isn’t at the forefront of most Hammers fans’ minds right now, but the delay is sure to be a disappointment for those at Molineux.
With West Ham scrambling to get Danny Ings‘ move from Aston Villa completed in time for him to registered for the must-win game against Everton, a similar situation at Villa Park would be highly frustrating.
Dawson leaves as a popular figure in East London, especially after being the last man standing at centre-back at times last season.
There has been a huge amount of upheaval in the Irons back line in the past year which is continuing with Dawson’s exit, and it is another element of the success under Moyes that is on the way out, after Mark Noble’s retirement.
With the club now languishing in the relegation zone despite the expensive arrivals of the summer, it is a genuine wonder whether the manager will follow as well before long.
It seemed unthinkable even six months ago but this season has been dreadful, and a poor result against the similarly beleaguered Frank Lampard won’t do anything for his long-term prospects.