A club have reportedly tried to flip a goalkeeper transfer deal on West Ham as David Sullivan pulls the plug on a move.
It may have taken a while to warm up but West Ham’s transfer window is starting to get hot.
And tensions have reached boiling point over two deals in particular.
West Ham have been concentrating on signing a new goalkeeper for some time now.
Graham Potter elected to release Lukasz Fabianski at the end of last season, despite many feeling he was still a better bet for the number one spot than Alphonse Areola.
The Frenchman has failed to establish himself as West Ham’s number one.
Find us ‘keepers as West Ham search reaches climax
Areola’s form has been particularly bad since Potter took over at the London Stadium in January.
The 32-year-old has also looked incredibly shaky in pre-season too.
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Espanyol have been linked with Areola, who is one of West Ham’s top earners on £120k per week.
His place has clearly been under threat as the Hammers have been linked with a host of goalkeeper signings.
Aaron Ramsdale, Djorde Petrovic and Caoimhin Kelleher were all heavily linked with moves to West Ham before joining Newcastle, Bournemouth and Brentford respectively.
Split image showing Botafogo goalkeeper John Victor and Leicester City ace Mads Hermansen
Credit: Wanderson Colino/Eurasia Sport Images/Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images
Leicester City’s Mads Hermansen, Sheffield United’s Michael Cooper, Parma’s Zion Suzuki, Botafogo’s John Victor and Werder Bremen’s Michael Zetterer have been in West Ham’s sights too.
Earlier this summer, Hammers News revealed West Ham’s first choice goalkeeper target was Hermansen.
West Ham’s new lead goalkeeper coach Casper Ankergren was the one pushing the Hermansen move having been his coach at Brondby previously.
Leicester have been trying to get as much money as possible for the 25-year-old, though, with the Hammers baulking at their original £25-30m valuation.
That figure saw the Hammers start to look elsewhere – as it reportedly did with Man United too.
This week journalist Henry Winter and a host of other leading football sources claimed West Ham had made a breakthrough in talks for Hermansen.
Club try to flip goalkeeper deal as Sullivan pulls plug on move
Now a club is trying to flip a goalkeeper deal as David Sullivan pulls the plug on a West Ham move.
Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett claims West Ham are closing on an £18m deal for Hermansen – with the player set for a medical on Friday.
The news comes on the same day reports in Brazil claim Victor is also on the cusp of joining the Hammers.
So close in fact that his manager Davide Ancelotti has today publicly said goodbye to Victor and thanked the 29-year-old for his service ahead of the move to the London Stadium.
The club’s owners today revealed whether West Ham will be signing both Hermansen and Victor.
Goalkeeper John Victor of Botafogo warms up prior to Recopa
Photo by Manuel Cortina/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Many Hammers supporters have been hoping the club will be signing Hermansen as he is Potter and Kyle Macaulay’s choice following Ankergren’s recommendation.
And a number of fans believe majority owner and de facto director of football Sullivan may be pushing the cheaper deal for 29-year-old Victor, who has never been capped by Brazil.
Especially after Hammers News exclusively revealed super agent Willie McKay was pushing Victor to West Ham
Now it has emerged one deal is on and another is off.
Because the Hammers are pushing ahead with the signing of Hermansen but have called off the move for Victor.
It is clear that it has been a transfer masterclass as Sullivan used Victor to force Leicester’s hand over Hermansen given the Foxes’ need to raise funds due to financial situation following another relegation.
Victor makes astonishing claim about West Ham move
But it seems Botafogo and Victor are desperately trying to save face.
Because UOL in Brazil is claiming that Victor rejected West Ham and decided he wanted to stay at Botafogo.
The report claims their sources have told them the decision was made by Victor, not West Ham, because he wanted to stay and win more titles with Botafogo.
The report also states that Victor felt his dream of playing for the Brazilian national team also influenced his decision to stay.
That’s despite the fact he would be playing for a big club in the best league in the world in front of the second biggest crowd in the English game.
In an unashamed attempt to turn the tables on Sullivan and West Ham, it is further claimed the goalkeeper backed out of the deal.
That’s despite Victor’s manager saying his goodbyes and the player being left out of the squad for their clash with Bragantino in the Copa do Brasil on Wednesday night.
While Victor, via UOL’s sources, is claiming he snubbed the Hammers, it is reported his club were very keen to cash in.
So much so they signed Neto from Bournemouth and now have three goalkeepers on their books all expecting to play.
Victor and Botafogo can dress it up whichever way they like, Hermansen was always West Ham’s first choice.
And the brinkmanship tactics employed by the Hammers to get the deal they wanted is nothing new nor unique to them in the modern game.