Both West Ham United and William Carvalho appear to be growing frustrated as Sporting Lisbon continue to stall on a deal.
If West Ham United did not know this already, attempting to conduct a transfer deal with one of Portugal’s biggest clubs tends to be like pulling teeth.
And it appears their pursuit of Sporting Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho has some way to go yet before the Euro 2016 winning star is pictured posing in claret and blue this summer.
Record (print version, via PressReader) report that The Hammers thought they had agreed a club-record fee of £32 million for the 25-year-old – only for Sporting to suddenly demand an extra £4.5 million to enable the deal to go through.
This is despite Carvalho agreeing terms on a five-year contract and making it clear that he wants to move to the London Stadium this summer. And it appears that there is frustration on both sides as the saga continues to drag on.
Because O Jogo (19 August, page 9) is reporting that Carvalho has started putting pressure on Sporting’s directors to sell the player, who has remained remarkably loyal to the club despite years of sustained Premier League speculation.
Never ending saga
Reports had emerged that Carvalho was refusing to train as he attempts to force through a move to London, though Sporting released an official statement claiming this was due to a leg injury.
Yet, the cynics may scoff at such a suggestion, particularly with Philippe Coutinho ruled out for Liverpool with an apparent injury while he angles for a move to Barcelona.
However, O Jogo report that Sporting manager Jorge Jesus has taken to using Carvalho as a back-up full-back in training as he plans for life without his midfield metronome.
It appears that everything is in place for William to become a West Ham player – though Sporting may still have one or two tricks up their sleeve.
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