West Ham United couldn’t bring in any signings on deadline day, and allegedly missed out on a deal to bring Duje Caleta-Car to East London.
That’s according to a report from French newspaper L’Equipe, who claim that there were ‘weeks of negotiations’ involving West Ham and Caleta-Car.
It’s stated that agents close to West Ham tried to force through a deal, but the Hammers didn’t make a good enough offer.
West Ham were only offering a loan deal with buy option for Caleta-Car, who is described as a ‘colossus’ in this report.
That wasn’t suitable for Marseille, who were looking to sell Caleta-Car in order to help raise much-needed funds.
West Ham wouldn’t make that kind of offer, and despite agents trying to push through the deal, Caleta-Car stays at Marseille.
The Croatian defender may be just a little gutted. Foot Mercato claim that Caleta-Car would have doubled his wages if he joined West Ham.
West Ham just wouldn’t budge though, preferring a loan to buy just as they did with Tomas Soucek, Said Benrahma and Alex Kral.
Caleta-Car, 25, has impressed in France since arriving from Red Bull Salzburg and has managed one goal in 12 Ligue 1 games this season.
Failing to reach a compromise means West Ham don’t have that extra defender that David Moyes wanted, which is a huge blow.
West Ham are chasing the top four, and failing to add depth at the back – especially with Angelo Ogbonna out for the season – is a surprise.
Maybe West Ham will go back to targeting Caleta-Car at the end of the season, but if they miss out on Champions League football some will feet it’s too little too late.
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