West Ham’s failed deal to loan Said Benrahma to Ligue 1 club Lyon could be revived with both parties hopeful that problems with the online system to lodge transfers on Thursday’s deadline may lead to a reprieve from authorities.
The London club also hope that the £7million move for Pablo Fornals to Real Betis could yet go ahead for the same reasons. Lyon, owned by the US investor Eagle Football, issued a stinging rebuke to West Ham over the collapse of the deal accusing the Premier League club of “incomprehensible behaviour”.
West Ham feel they were at a huge disadvantage with a game on deadline day against Bournemouth meaning the club’s resources were stretched at a critical moment in the season. The Wolves manager Gary O’Neil was also critical of the Premier League for scheduling a game for his club on deadline day which meant he had to come away from last-minute talks over signing a new striker.
In the case of West Ham and the Benrahma deal, documents had to be lodged on the Football Association’s online clearing house as well as the equivalent with Fifa, the “transfer matching system”. It is not clear which of the two systems slowed down the deal as the 11pm deadline approached on Thursday but it appears there is still a chance Benrahma may be permitted to join the struggling French club.
Lyon, once serial champions of Ligue 1, are currently 16th and desperate to improve their squad. Eagle Football, run by the US investor John Textor, also has a 45 per cent stake in Crystal Palace as well as Botafago in Brazil and RWD Molenbeek in Belgium.
David Moyes, the West Ham manager, said on Friday that “it looks like there have been some problems with the paperwork” and that the club will seek to show “exactly what happened or what didn’t happen” with the forms.
A deal had been agreed for Fornals on Thursday afternoon, and Betis remain hopeful of it being finalised in the coming hours.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
