It’s been a dramatic 24 hours for West Ham United on the transfer front, with their focus firmly fixed on potential departures rather than further incomings whilst holding Bournemouth to a 1-1 draw in the Premier League.
West Ham transfer news
The Hammers ended the window having welcomed just one fresh face in the form of Kalvin Phillips on loan from Manchester City. The midfielder had a debut to forget, however, after giving the ball away for Dominic Solanke’s early Bournemouth opener.
Meanwhile, away from the pitch, there was even more drama as IT issues stood in the way of Pablo Fornals’ move to Real Betis, but the Hammers have since confirmed the Spaniard has left the club.
Meanwhile, as confirmed in a statement by the French club, Said Benrahma’s move to Lyon collapsed late on after West Ham failed to register the agreements on FIFA’s system due to the same IT problems they faced with Fornals. Left angered by the “incomprehensible behaviour”, Lyon’s statement read:
“Olympique Lyonnais were delighted to welcome Saïd Benrahma to Lyon on Thursday to finalise his transfer from West Ham. The two clubs had signed a temporary transfer agreement, and Olympique Lyonnais had obtained approval from the DNCG to allow the transfer to proceed smoothly and transparently.
“However, at the beginning of the evening, while Olympique Lyonnais had entered all the administrative data on FIFA’s dedicated platform (FIFA TMS), West Ham had never launched any technical procedure on its part, despite repeated reminders from OL and continuous mutual telephone communication.
“In the absence of this reciprocal action on the part of the English club and following this incomprehensible behaviour, which raises questions, the international transfer certificate could not be requested before the closing time.”
FIFA then launched an investigation into the situation, and within a matter of hours it was revealed that the former Brentford trickster will indeed be allowed to follow Fornals in leaving outside the usual parameters of the window, with the TMS now signed at both ends and Benrahma already in France. The deal has been confirmed in the last few moments on Lyon’s official media channels.
Should the Hammers have kept Benrahma?
In a bizarre transfer saga, West Ham may have been lucky had they kept hold of Benrahma, who Frank McAvennie called a “wonderful talent“, especially after Fornals’ departure went through. The Spaniard’s exit leaves a gaping hole that a player of Benrahma’s calibre would fill, in what could be an ideal scenario for Moyes, who failed to bring in any attacking additions of his own.
Said Benrahma at West Ham | All competitions |
|---|---|
Goals | 24 |
Assists | 19 |
Appearances | 155 |
Whether those at the London Stadium face consequences for their reported IT failures remains to be seen, but the back and forth deal certainly provided an unexpected transfer twist in the dying hours of the January window.
