Bilic diplomatic on Carvalho situation

  • by Staff Writer
  • Friday, 8th September 2017

Slaven Bilic spent much of this morning's pre-match press conference fending off quesitons regarding West Ham United's summer transfer business.

A huge row exploded between David Sullivan and Sporting directors earlier this week after the veracity of the West Ham co-owners comments regarding the botched transfer of William Carvalho were called into quesiton by the Portuguese.

And when questioned about the events, Bilic insisted diplomatically that he was in no position to comment on discussions that had taken place without his knowledge. "It didn't happen because it did not happen," he said.

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"You know the stories, we've been in the media quite a lot becasue of the transfer window. We wanted to get some players and it did not happen. Why didn't it happen? I dunno, I think it was money. It was definitely money.

"I wanted the player - we wanted the player - and as far as I know we had been in talks with Sporting Lisbon. Whether that was official or not, I don't know, I don't do these things as I'm not negotiating.

"I suggested a player, I wanted a player and we talked to them. It didn't happen purely and only because the money was too high."

However Bilic was far less inclined to support the co-owner's version of events when asked to explain the situation regarding Grzegorz Krychowiak and Renato Sanches, who Sullivan claimed in a statement published on whufc.com had been both offered to and rejected by Bilic.

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"He likes to talk," retorted Bilic. "It's his right. Look, I said I wanted a player - and that is not exactly what happened with those two players you mentioned. I wanted Carvalho and it was [brought up] in the middle of talking about Carvalho.

"In my time at West Ham this is very, very common - that when you talk about one player, and it looks like it's going to happen, then suddenly somebody throws two or three other names in that to distract you from the main target.

"That's what happened there as well. Of course the two other players are very good players."

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