West Ham United have made a host of signings during the summer transfer window under their new boss Manuel Pellegrini as the former Man City boss has tried to strengthen almost every area of the pitch.
But now the manager has revealed why he chose not to sign one of the most impactful midfielders in the Premier League despite him being readily available.
During the course of the summer, a number of reports had connected former Man City midfielder Yaya Toure with West Ham United as many believed that his former manager would take him up.
Toure had parted ways with the Premier League champions after which he had a number of harsh comments for Pep Guardiola. His agent even went on to say that the player was ready to play for free for any Premier League club just to prove to Guardiola that the manager had made a mistake.
And now with just one day left in the summer transfer window Yaya Toure’s agent has revealed that the midfielder will be joining a club and he chose to break this news in a rather odd way.
As Toure was having a medical in London before his signing his agent Dimitry Seluk wrote on Twitter: “It’s not West Ham, 100 per cent. Yaya is a champion. The last place is not for him.”
Immediately after this, West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini has come out to clear the air as to why he chose not to sign Yaya Toure despite him being a free agent.
Pellegrini said: “The words of the agent of Yaya were unfortunate. Because I spoke with Yaya, I know how I appreciate him as a person, as a player.
“I think he is a very good player. At the moment that we were doing our squad list, that position was covered by other players.
“We needed money to bring in other positions, so I explained to Yaya clearly why he cannot come here but I hope he will find a good club, a big club, because he is a very good player.
“I spoke with Yaya. He wanted to stay in England. When I was at Manchester City, he received an offer away from China, but he always told me he wants to stay here in England.
“He continues to try to be here. I suppose West Ham was one option. For me as a manager also. But unfortunately, that position was covered by other players.”
West Ham United have lost all their opening three matches in the Premier League and will now take on Wolves this Saturday at home who are fresh off that 1-1 draw vs Manchester City last weekend.
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