West Ham finally complete sales of Fornals and Benrahma
Said Benrahma and Pablo Fornals have finally secured their moves after West Ham scrambled to fix the deadline day fiasco which saw their two players left in limbo.
Both Lyon and Real Betis accused the English club of botching the paperwork in scenes reminiscent of the faulty fax machine which cost David De Gea his 2015 move to Real Madrid.
FIFA were dragged in to help fix the mess as they investigated the cock-ups and granted approval so that Fornals and Benrahma could sign on Friday.
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Fornals has moved to Betis for £6.8million, while Benrahma will join Lyon on loan with a £15m option at the end of this season.
Yet West Ham remain hugely disappointed with Lyon’s reaction on deadline day.
The French club were all set to have Benrahma sign his contract live on television when the deal dramatically broke down – and that embarrassment led to their release of an explosive statement in which they said West Ham showed ‘a deep lack of respect’ towards them and the player.
West Ham manager David Moyes responded to that accusation on Friday morning, saying: ‘It’s a big word to use before we get a chance to show exactly what happened or didn’t happen.’
Betis were less incendiary as they felt confident the transfer of Fornals would be ratified because it was a ‘computer problem’ on West Ham’s part.
FIFA, football’s world governing body, spent Friday looking into the doomed deals which livened up an otherwise subdued deadline day.