A few eyebrows were raised when Shane Long looked set for a late move to Hull on transfer deadline day and West Brom have said the deal fell through as Hull could not afford the striker.
The Tipp man left the Irish camp to travel to England after the Baggies accepted an offer believed to be £5 million, while they were in the process of completing deals to bring Stephane Sessegnon and Victor Anichebe to the Hawthorns.
However the deal fell through and the club this evening released a statement that it was not their intention to sell in the first place, but that every players has a price. Crucially for Hull, they were ultimately not able to put the financial package together to add to the Irish contingent at the club.
“We accepted Hull’s offer in principle and gave them permission to speak to Shane, but the deal depended on many other factors – including a real reluctance to sell,” the Sporting & Technical Director Richard Garlick explained on the club website.
“In a phone conversation with Shane’s representative, I informed him that Shane was under no pressure to leave. We were definitely not trying to force him out.
“Hull then informed us they could not finance the deal they had tabled and wanted to reduce it to a level that the club would never have accepted in the first place.
“Given that Shane was not a player we were looking to sell, we ended all negotiations with Hull there and then.”
He also added that the decision to keep Long had absolutely nothing to do with Romelu Lukaku opting to join Everton and that they are delighted he remains at the club.
We just hope the striker can demonstrate in the two World Cup qualifiers just why he is such a valuable asset.
