David Sullivan refusal behind another West Ham United transfer collapse on Luis Guilherme
Luis Guilherme’s proposed move to West Ham is off after David Sullivan refused to sanction the deal, according to HITC.
A report on the outlet’s website from Graeme Bailey (3 June) claims that the Hammers chairman had drawn the line at a £25million fee for the Brazilian and was not interested in moving to meet the £30m Palmeiras were holding out for.
Additionally Sullivan would not sign off on a contract that would have made the young attacker one of the highest paid teenagers in the Premier League, and has “pulled the plug” on the deal.
Fabrizio Romano had reported in 31 May that negotiations over a move had already entered the final stages and success was soon expected, but just as a move for fellow Brazilian Patricio Bruno also collapsed after advancing towards a deal [Guardian, 30 May] West Ham are set for a second disappointment of the summer.
Tim Steidten sees second West Ham deal go begging
The intention to get ahead of the game and have transfer business wrapped up early makes perfect sense with Julen Lopetegui on the way in to replace David Moyes, not least after the delays that characterised last summer.
But while one collapsed deal could be considered unfortunate a second following so soon after already has the makings of an unwanted trend.
Clearly it would be unwise for West Ham to cause themselves financial concerns by overspending, especially now that the likes of Everton and Nottingham Forest have been hit by top flight points deductions.
But if this ultimately leads to a situation where the Irons are forced to pay higher prices for their second or third choice targets later in the window anyway then the latest developments will be all the more frustrating.
Tim Steidten has been lining up deals in South America but either the club have been very unfortunate with the arrival of competing interest from sources such as the big-spending Saudi Pro League at the crucial moments, or there has been some sort of breakdown in communication between the technical director and the chairman over what budget is available to get these transfers over the line.
There is a long way to go yet since the window doesn’t actually open until 14 June (BBC Sport) and Lopetegui doesn’t officially start until 1 July but two failures from seemingly advanced positions this early is not encouraging.
In other West Ham news, a big-money ace has been left upset by his club’s transfer claim after an approach by the Irons.
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