Sporting Lisbon to report West Ham over William Carvalho transfer saga

Carvalho remains a Sporting Lisbon player
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Ken Dyer7 September 2017

The row between West Ham and Sporting Lisbon over William Carvalho turned even nastier today, with the Portuguese club announcing they would report the Premier League club to Uefa over alleged "illegal approaches" for the midfielder.

Emails released on Thursday, dated August 10 and 11, appear to show that West made an offer of just under £23million for the Portugal international, with a follow-up bid which included a 10 per cent sell-on clause and add-ons based on Champions League qualification.

The intended destination of the messages have been blacked out, while the recipients of any copies have also been obscured.

West Ham claim that Sporting made contact with them on transfer deadline day in an attempt to seal the deal but that, by then, it was too late to arrange a medical for the 25-year-old.

It is understood that West Ham refute any suggestions of an illegal approach and that no direct contact was made with Carvalho at any time.

The spat between the two clubs began after the transfer window closed, with West Ham, who had pursued Carvalho throughout the summer, failing to sign the player.

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Sporting denied that West Ham ever made an official offer for Carvalho and the situation deteriorated swiftly when the club’s communications director, Nuno Saraiva, labelled Hammers co-owner David Sullivan - who oversees deals - a "parasite" and "liar".

Sullivan's son, Dave Sullivan Jnr., responded on Twitter by threatening to "commence legal proceedings" against Saraiva. Sporting’s president, Bruno de Carvalho, then joined the fray, calling Sullivan and co-chairman David Gold, the "Dildo Brothers".

There has also been criticism of Sullivan by some West Ham fans, following his revelation after the transfer window closed that manager Slaven Bilic rejected the opportunity to take either Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Gregorz Krychowiak or Bayern Munich’s Renato Sanches on loan once the Carvalho transfer unravelled.

Bilic is already under severe pressure after West Ham lost their first three Premier League matches.