West Ham United lost Jose Fonte to China earlier this month.
West Ham United fans questioned the club’s decision to offload Jose Fonte earlier this month.
The Portugal international succumbed to the allure of China by signing for Dalian Yifang in a shock transfer which upset many of the Irons’ faithful.
But if what Davie Provan claims is true, manager David Moyes was right to get rid of the 34-year-old.
Writing in his Scottish Sun column on Sunday, Provan, a former Celtic team-mate of Moyes, claims that Fonte refused to play for Moyes in a friendly against Dagenham and Redbridge that was set up for him.
He said to The Scottish Sun: “A couple of weeks ago I mentioned David Moyes arranging a reserve game to get an injured player match-fit.
“The game was at Dagenham and Redbridge and to Moysey’s frustration Jose Fonte didn’t fancy pulling on his boots at the National League club’s ground.
“Now, Fonte is signing for Dalian Yifang in the Chinese Super League. He couldn’t cross London for a reserve game but is answering the call of the cash register five thousand miles away. Don’t you love the modern-day player?”
According to Provan, the fixture seems to have been orchestrated for Fonte – who hadn’t played for the Hammers since October due to injury – in an attempt to help him regain a bit of match fitness.
And if true, surely West Ham fans, whose side are only three points clear of the danger zone, can’t argue that it was the right decision to offload a player who evidently wasn’t committed to the cause.
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