Spurs have continued the West Ham transfer embargo with a new deadline day snub as Djed Spence joins Nayef Aguerd’s old club.
A report last week claimed there could be a rare transfer agreement between West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur for Spence before the transfer window closed.
The Hammers desperately need a new right-back after failing to sign one in the summer.
Spurs beat the Hammers to the signing of reported David Moyes target Spence in the summer and West Ham never solved the issue, which has been costing them dear all season long.
He opted to join Tottenham instead but Antonio Conte admitted it was not his decision to bring in the swashbuckling right-back (Daily Mail). And it has showed. Spence has played just five minutes for Tottenham in the Premier League this season (WhoScored).
And he is about to slip even further down the pecking order with Spurs expected to sign Pedro Porro imminently.
Yesterday West Ham were alleged to be one of four clubs trying to sign Spence on loan from Tottenham (Give Me Sport).
The big hurdle for the Hammers to overcome was frosty relations between the two boardrooms.
There is no love lost between Tottenham chief Daniel Levy and West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady, the Gold family and David Sullivan.
That has seen an unofficial transfer embargo between the two rivals for over a decade.
West Ham were expecting to sign striker Emmanuel Adebayor from Tottenham on deadline day back in 2015. But Levy pulled the plug on the deal at the very last moment.
That sparked a furious outburst from recently passed West Ham co-owner David Gold at the time as he criticised Levy on Twitter.
“No matter how hard you try there are people out there that you just can’t do business with,” Gold said.
That came after the ugly bidding war between West Ham and Tottenham for the Olympic Stadium during which Brady’s mobile phone bills were accessed by a private investigator (The Guardian).
Now Spurs have continued the West Ham transfer embargo with a new deadline day snub as Spence joins Nayef Aguerd’s old club.
Football.London and transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano have confirmed Spence is joining Rennes on loan for the rest of the season.
The deal is set to be officially announced imminently after the West Ham target travelled to France for a medical on Monday night while the Hammers were beating Derby 2-0 in the FA Cup.
After that game Moyes said there is a chance West Ham will make signings on deadline day.
But Spence is one player who won’t be coming in.
It is a real shame because the London boy is just what West Ham need in that position – a young, talented ball player with pace and energy to help attacks and someone hungry to prove himself at the top level.
He is Spurs’ player, though, so it is their prerogative not to do business with West Ham. Let’s just hope the Hammers reciprocate in the future.