West Ham have faced numerous disappointments this summer.
There was the sale of Grady Diangana to West Bromwich Albion, a talented, homegrown player cut loose before he could reach his prime.
Then there were the opening two results, losses to Newcastle United and Arsenal, only serving to ratchet up the toxicity at the club.
A 4-0 win over Wolves lifted some gloom but even that came after David Moyes and two players, Josh Cullen and Issa Diop, tested positive for COVID-19.
And the bad news, much like the virus, is spreading.
Indeed, it appears that a deal to sign Duje Caleta-Car, the Marseille centre-back, has collapsed.
The Hammers had been in talks to sign the centre-back, per The Daily Telegraph, but he wants to stay in France, despite the two clubs agreeing a fee.
It is a blow to Moyes, who is said to have identified Caleta-Car as his primary target for the centre-back slot.
And it also opens the door to a potentially underwhelming swoop for Watford defender Craig Dawson.
While the Hammers had until Monday’s transfer deadline to sign Caleta-Car, a deal for Dawson will not suffer the same time constraints, as an extension to the rules means players can move between EFL and Premier League clubs for 11 days following the close of the window.
GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…
This is yet another horrible disappointment for West Ham.
Caleta-Car could have been a fine signing for the club, coming in and beefing up a defence in desperate need of it.
He has made 57 appearances for Marseille and is a key member of the squad – he even scored a brace in the 3-2 win over Stade Brest 29 earlier this term.
Having agreed a fee for him, it seemed as though the deal was on the verge of completion.
But surely someone involved in the deal – be it the player, the agent or the club – would have told the Hammers that he was not keen on the move.
That they have pursued it for this long shows that they really don’t know what they’re doing.
But perhaps we knew that all along.