There was an audible sigh of relief around the Transfer Tavern as the Chinese Super League’s transfer window closed on February 28, with fans from a whole host of clubs sweating on the prospect of mega money moves turning key stars’ heads.
The Far East nation’s biggest teams have been dominating headlines in recent times amid the vast levels of spending being sanctioned, and reports from the Mirror claim an offer from an unnamed CSL team worth £32m was rejected by West Ham as the transfer deadline loomed.
A source told the outlet: “There was a bid from China of £32m for Andy Carroll, but it was knocked back,
“The board still believe he’s the best No.9 in the UK and vital to West Ham at both ends of the pitch.”
Had the Hammers have accepted the bid, the fee brought in would have been the highest ever received by the club, with Dimitri Payet’s Marseille switch in January currently their record at £25m.
It seems, then, that the Londoners had no desire to sell the burly English forward, backing up recent reports from Sky Sports that they rejected three offers from Chinese teams for the 28-year-old.
A few punters in the Tavern are confused as to why their club didn’t take such a huge fee given that they could have reinvested the money in the summer to replace the perennially injured ex-Liverpool and Newcastle man.
