Thursday, August 04, 2005
Monaco Shafts West Ham & Bywater on Loan
AS Monaco have made another sudden about-turn and decided to keep striker Emmanuel Adebayor, virtually grabbing the pen from the 21-year-old's hand as he was poised to sign a West Ham contract.
Despite having reached an agreement with West Ham over the player's price and the player himself having agreed to come to London, Monaco have cancelled the deal. This is quite a kick in the teeth for the player, who was apparently excited about the move, and for Alan Pardew, West Ham, and West Ham supporters.
Paul Aldridge explained the shenanigans to the Club's official website. "West Ham United approached Monaco regarding the player’s availability. At first we were told by Monaco that the player was not for sale unless the fee paid was substantially over the market price. However, over this weekend the club contacted us again saying that they were now prepared to discuss the possibility of the player’s transfer at a price closer to our own valuation.
"After initial discussions went well, Alan Pardew and myself flew to Monaco on Monday to meet the club’s Vice President Mr. Brianti. After discussing the deal at length we reached an agreement on the valuation and payment structure for Emmanuel Adebayor’s transfer to West Ham United. Mr. Brianti then contacted Monaco’s President, who sanctioned the deal and gave us permission to speak to the player.
"We moved quickly to meet with Emmanuel. Alan had a long conversation with the player, which went extremely well, and Emmanuel was very keen to agree personal terms and conclude his move to West Ham United.
"Late on Monday evening we agreed personal terms with the player and his agent, with all parties seemingly satisfied at the deal we had reached.
"Early on Tuesday morning we were completing the paperwork and making arrangements for the player to travel back to England with us to undergo a medical and visit the Boleyn Ground and Chadwell Heath Training complex.
"It was then that we received a telephone call from Monaco saying that the club had changed their minds and that Emmanuel was no longer for sale. Obviously this is extremely disappointing, not only for West Ham United, but also for the player, who was very excited about the possibility of moving to England and playing for West Ham United. Unfortunately, unless Monaco change their decision the deal cannot be completed and Alan Pardew will now move on to look at other transfer targets."
Who those targets are remain to be seen, with previous targets Crouch, Baros, Ashton, and Johnson all transverred or declared unavailable.
In other news, the goalkeeper issue looks to be totally resolved with Stephen Bywater joining Coventry on loan until January. It seems Carroll will be first choice and Shaka second, and when Walker returns from injury we should have four keepers available and Pardew can pick his favourites from that lot. Bywater seems pretty keen on the loan move, probably since he wasn't expecting much first team action this season. He said, "The prospect of playing under Micky Adams in a new 32,000-seater stadium at Coventry was too good to turn down. I have heard from a number of players what a good boss Micky Adams is and I was very happy to learn under him." Lining up for a permanent move, maybe? I hope not.
Despite having reached an agreement with West Ham over the player's price and the player himself having agreed to come to London, Monaco have cancelled the deal. This is quite a kick in the teeth for the player, who was apparently excited about the move, and for Alan Pardew, West Ham, and West Ham supporters.
Paul Aldridge explained the shenanigans to the Club's official website. "West Ham United approached Monaco regarding the player’s availability. At first we were told by Monaco that the player was not for sale unless the fee paid was substantially over the market price. However, over this weekend the club contacted us again saying that they were now prepared to discuss the possibility of the player’s transfer at a price closer to our own valuation.
"After initial discussions went well, Alan Pardew and myself flew to Monaco on Monday to meet the club’s Vice President Mr. Brianti. After discussing the deal at length we reached an agreement on the valuation and payment structure for Emmanuel Adebayor’s transfer to West Ham United. Mr. Brianti then contacted Monaco’s President, who sanctioned the deal and gave us permission to speak to the player.
"We moved quickly to meet with Emmanuel. Alan had a long conversation with the player, which went extremely well, and Emmanuel was very keen to agree personal terms and conclude his move to West Ham United.
"Late on Monday evening we agreed personal terms with the player and his agent, with all parties seemingly satisfied at the deal we had reached.
"Early on Tuesday morning we were completing the paperwork and making arrangements for the player to travel back to England with us to undergo a medical and visit the Boleyn Ground and Chadwell Heath Training complex.
"It was then that we received a telephone call from Monaco saying that the club had changed their minds and that Emmanuel was no longer for sale. Obviously this is extremely disappointing, not only for West Ham United, but also for the player, who was very excited about the possibility of moving to England and playing for West Ham United. Unfortunately, unless Monaco change their decision the deal cannot be completed and Alan Pardew will now move on to look at other transfer targets."
Who those targets are remain to be seen, with previous targets Crouch, Baros, Ashton, and Johnson all transverred or declared unavailable.
In other news, the goalkeeper issue looks to be totally resolved with Stephen Bywater joining Coventry on loan until January. It seems Carroll will be first choice and Shaka second, and when Walker returns from injury we should have four keepers available and Pardew can pick his favourites from that lot. Bywater seems pretty keen on the loan move, probably since he wasn't expecting much first team action this season. He said, "The prospect of playing under Micky Adams in a new 32,000-seater stadium at Coventry was too good to turn down. I have heard from a number of players what a good boss Micky Adams is and I was very happy to learn under him." Lining up for a permanent move, maybe? I hope not.
