West Bromwich Albion had reportedly agreed a fee to sign Brazil international Josef de Souza from Fenerbahce.
Josef de Souza looked set to be a West Bromwich Albion player by the end of the summer transfer window.
The Express and Star reported with just a week until the window closed that the Baggies had agreed a £10.6 million deal to land the Fenerbahce midfielder, who promised to add both brains and brawn to Tony Pulis’s famously sturdy midfield while offsetting the loss of Darren Fletcher.
However, while the inspired loan signing of Grzegorz Krychowiak from PSG means West Brom go into the rest of the season with real optimism, missing out on Souza after coming so close to a deal will still be a disappointment to Pulis.
The 28-year-old, a three-time Brazil international, would surely have represented an improvement on Claudio Yacob in midfield while also filling in at right-back, something of a problem position for West Brom.
However, while work permit issues appeared to delay the deal, Brazilian publication Globo Esporte reports that Souza’s move eventually hit the buffers due to a failure to agree personal terms – despite the former Porto player having his heart set on a move to The Midlands.
The report claims Souza’s representatives did not agree with some of the clauses put forward by West Brom while the club were also less than impressed with the demands made by the Brazilian.
Fortunately, West Brom were able to reinforce their midfield with the signing of Krychowiak, who was viewed as one of Europe’s top midfielders during a superb spell at Sevilla before an ill-judged move to PSG left his reputation severely dented.
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