West Ham United give Pablo Fornals permission to quit on Deadline Day as multi-million fee agreed
West Ham have given Pablo Fornals permission to speak to Real Betis to finalise a permanent deadline-day transfer deal, according to Dharmesh Sheth.
The Sky Sports journalist reported via his X account on 1 February that a fee of around £7million has been agreed between the two clubs, with the Spaniard now set to begin talks.
Fornals was widely expected to leave the London Stadium this month, with talks continuing throughout the transfer window, but he now looks set to finalise his move before the 11pm deadline.
He will be missed
While the end to his West Ham career hasn’t exactly been sparkling, after he was made a backup option by the arrival of Mohammed Kudus and the upturn in form from both Lucas Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen, Fornals will still be remembered fondly in East London.
It was his goal against AZ in the semi-final of the Europa Conference League that set the Hammers on their path to European silverware, and while it may be Bowen’s winner in the final that takes the plaudits, those fans who were at the AZ game will never forget the Spaniard’s contribution.
Fornals has made just 15 appearances for the Hammers so far this season with most of those coming from the bench and was always expected to be on his way out of East London before the deadline.
His contract was initially expected to expire at the end of the season but West Ham opted to extend it by one year to bring in a fee – a strategy which has worked as the £7million bid has now been agreed upon.
In other West Ham news, a sought-after attacker wants his move to the Irons resurrected in the final hours.
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