UK Edition
West Ham striker Diafra Sakho spends deadline day at Chelmsford races after attempting to force Rennes move
West Ham United striker Diafra Sakho spent transfer deadline day at Chelmsford races after attempting to force his way to Rennes.
It emerged that Sakho flew to France and passed a medical at the Ligue 1 club on Wednesday, even though West Ham had not agreed to sell him. Rather than return to training on Thursday, Sakho went to Chelmsford races with his agent Mark Mackay, who had a runner in the 3.20pm race.
Mackay’s horse, Siege of Boston, won in a photo-finish, but, fittingly, The Happy Hammer was a non-runner in the same race.
Sakho and Mackay then travelled to the London Stadium in Stratford with the plan of holding late talks over his future, only to find none of West Ham’s top brass were there.
Speaking from the winners’ enclosure at Chelmsford, McKay said: “It's good to come here, pop in and watch the horse run.
“Now it's time to get back to work. There are things to be sorted out so it's back to the football now. I hope all the West Ham fans backed the horse.
“No bid has been accepted. We are just waiting for [West Ham co-owner] David Sullivan. The medical has been passed. There is a lot of off-field stuff to sort out.”
Crystal Palace had also shown an interest in Sakho, but they moved on to other targets while the 27-year-old enjoyed his day at the races.
Sakho joined West Ham in 2014 for £3.5 million from Boulogne and scored 10 Premier League goals in his first season under Sam Allardyce. But he has since been hit by a number of injuries and fell out with Slaven Bilic on more than one occasion, while netting only six Premier League goals over the course of the last two seasons.