Crystal Palace came very close to selling Eddie Nketiah to West Ham in January.
The Athletic believe a £27m deal was agreed between the Eagles and the Hammers, only for the England international to suffer a hamstring injury in training at Copers Cope which caused the move to collapse.
West Ham ended up sanctioning a £26m deal for Taty Castellanos instead – along with the £22m addition of Pablo Felipe.
This winter business at the London Stadium has given Nuno Espirito Santo a chance of survival, with West Ham winning three and drawing two of their last six Premier League games – and a new update on Eddie Nketiah from Oliver Glasner will surely leave the east Londoners feeling pretty smug.
Oliver Glasner admits Eddie Nketiah has suffered another setback
Speaking in his press conference ahead of the second leg of the UEFA Conference League play-off against Zrinjski Mostar on Thursday, the Austrian revealed that the Crystal Palace No.9 is now expected to return in April having suffered yet another setback.
Glasner said: “Eddie had a setback and it will take him now a few more weeks. We are now at the end of February. We expect him back in training. I think it will be the end of March, but because we don’t have games, it looks like it will be April.”
Nketiah, who has a history of hamstring issues, has not featured for Crystal Palace since a 1-0 defeat against Tottenham at the end of December, and if another setback occurs, he may even end up failing to play again this season with the campaign ending in May.
Therefore, had West Ham gone ahead with that £27m deal, Nuno would not have even been able to call upon the 26-year-old for most of the second half of the season.
So, the Irons will surely be feeling quite pleased with themselves for backing out of this move after hearing the latest from Glasner.
Crystal Palace also risk dealing with a disillusioned Eddie Nketiah once he returns
Even once Nketiah – who could represent Ghana soon – regains full fitness, he will return with the knowledge that Crystal Palace attempted to get rid of him, which may impact his levels of motivation.
Eddie Nketiah in action for Crystal Palace during a Premier League clash against Bournemouth
Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images
The Lewisham-born striker was already potentially feeling quite unwanted even before the agreement with West Ham, having made just two Premier League starts so far this season as Jean-Philippe Mateta was preferred.
Now, with the arrival of more attacking competition in Jorgen Strand Larsen, Brennan Johnson and Evann Guessand, it would not be a surprise whatsoever if Crystal Palace had another go at selling Nketiah this summer, although it will be hard to find a buyer due to his persistent injury problems.