Dyer Situation

Kieron Dyer's proposed £6million transfer to West Ham United collapsed last night after sources revealed that Newcastle United inflated the fee to £8million at the 11th hour. Although Dyer, who nurses an undisclosed liver complaint and has a history of hamstring and shin trouble, passed a day-long medical at a London hospital on Thursday, West Ham sent the England midfielder away unsigned yesterday, complaining that Newcastle had reneged on an agreement reached on Wednesday by increasing his price at the last minute. The two clubs had agreed that West Ham would pay £5million plus a further £1million related to appearances but that basic outlay was raised to £7million shortly before the player was due to put pen to paper. The Guardian claim sources close to the player first suspected a hitch when Newcastle failed to return West Ham a signed copy of the originally mutually approved transfer forms.

George Caulkin, writing in The Times, says that Newcastle United dramatically raised the asking price at the behest of Mike Ashley. The new club owner is said to be unhappy with the way he believes West Ham have conducted business. According to The Mail that includes directly approaching the midfielder and being accused of unsettling the 28-year-old before they were given permission to speak to him, which West Ham deny. There appeared to be pessimism that the deal could be revived last night although The Express quote sources close to Dyer as saying a compromise will be reached. The Guardian think there will be no movement on the price from West Ham, which could force an unwilling Dyer to start the new campaign at St James’ Park. Dyer, who desperately wanted a move south for family reasons, is sure to alarmed at the prospect of returning to the club where he has recently been the victim of a hate campaign from Newcastle supporters.

In further bad news for Hammers fans, Eidur Gudjohnsen has denied reports linking him with a move to Upton Park. The Independent states the Icelandic striker has been pushed down the pecking order at Barcelona but he says he has not been in contact with the Premiership club and is determined to fight for his place at the Nou Camp. "My first priority is to stay and so far I am not thinking about anything else. I remember when I was at Chelsea and manager Claudio Ranieri said that as he had Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Adrian Mutu and Hernan Crespo, I was going to be the fourth striker. I accepted that and in the end I ended up playing many games. I know that you always get chances and I am not going to give up."