Fabrizio Romano believes that disagreement on personal terms scuttled the deal.
Milenkovic came close to departing Fiorentina this summer for West Ham, but with a deal seemingly in place, West Ham changed their mind.
Yes, it’s not unheard of for a team to be close to finalizing a deal on a player then pack it up in the dying moments of the transaction. How many times has a club walked out of a deal?
We’ve had players have a last-minute change of heart. There are also deals, which other clubs hijacked. Negotiating for a player and pulling out at the last moment is something that is not so common.
The most recent memory of a club walking out on a deal is the interest from Manchester City in Cristiano Ronaldo before he joined Manchester United. City seemed to have an agreement in principle for the signature of Ronaldo but withdrew from the deal at the last moment.
Manchester City seems to be in good company with West Ham, who also walked out of a deal it seemed they had tied up.
Why West Ham opted out of the deal
Information had filtered out that Nikola Milenkovic was about to sign for the London club. West Ham United eventually opted out of the deal, and Fabrizio Romano has verified the information on his podcast.
He also explained why the deal fell through as the Hammers chose to sign Kurt Zouma from Chelsea instead. According to Romano, an agreement was already in place with Fiorentina to take the player to London. After the discussions with the player and his agent, the deal crashed.
Romano said it was a crazy deal. West Ham had finished everything with just the final details left, but they still couldn’t push it over the line. For Romano, it was disagreement on personal terms that messed up the deal.
Who is Nikola Milenkovic?
Nikola Milenkovic is a 23-year-old Serbian defender who plays for Serie A side Fiorentina.
Hed at Partizan Belgrade and rose through the youth ranks making his senior debut for the club in 2015.
He spent a year on loan at Teleoptik before he arrived at Fiorentina for a reported fee of €5.1 million in 2017.
The 6ft 4inch defender has good positioning. Though not flash, his positional sense has helped him cover ground quickly. Statistically, Milenkovic was the best tackler in Serie A in the 2020/21 season.
He is a threat from corners and scored three times last season.
The young Serbian has dug in at Fiorentina and is already posting good performances as he puts the West Ham ordeal behind him.
In Fiorentina’s opening day 3-1 defeat to AS Roma, he scored his side’s only goal.
The transfer window might be over but there is still a lot that will happen over the coming weeks. Staying here at Betpack will keep you updated about the latest news you need to know in the transfer world.
By :
Steven D. Thompson
