Daniel Feliciano

Sun 29 January 2023 15:07, UK

West Ham United have been unable to sign Formose Mendy because he doesn’t meet all the requirements to get a work permit, according to FootMercato.

The Senegalese centre-back has been a target for David Moyes’ side this month as he looks to bolster his defensive options, having allowed Craig Dawson to join Wolves on a permanent deal.

But the Hammers have struggled to get a work permit for the 21-year-old Amiens ace, and now Monaco want to take advantage of the situation by trying to sign him before Tuesday’s deadline under West Ham’s noses.

“Senegalese central defender Formose Mendy is being courted by West Ham, but the work visa conditions are not all met by the 22-year-old player, who has the subject of a request for exemption from the Hammers to hope to finalize his arrival,” they wrote (29 January).

“The Rock club has also inquired about his situation and could thus take advantage of the difficulties constraining his departure to the Premier League to enter the dance and offer his services.”

Shame

The Irons have long looked at French football for gems to improve their squad, and Mendy certainly falls into that category himself too.

But there are some things we can’t control, and one of those is the requirements for work permits, which means a deal simply can’t be done right now.

The club have seemingly applied for an exemption, but it seems unlikely they’d get one for a player who is currently playing in France’s second tier of football and now Monaco are in prime position to step in and sign him.

They already lost Benoit Badiashile to Chelsea this month and can offer him more regular football than West Ham anyway, so it’s one we’ll just have to swallow and hope doesn’t turn into too big of a loss.

It’s nice to see the club are still looking to improve the squad at this late stage of the window, because we need to be better in the second half of the season to move away from a relegation battle and push up the table to be where we’re supposed to be.