West Ham to sign Ilunga (or not)

Setanta are reporting that Herita Ilunga is soon to sign a permanent deal with West Ham. They quote the player's agent Daniel Striani as saying that West Ham intend to use their buy out clause.

However if you read the full text of what the agent says it is clear that there is as yet no agreement for West Ham to sign the player.

“His situation is crystal clear: Herita is on loan from Toulouse to West Ham, who have an option to sign him until April. What I can reveal to you is that West Ham fully intend to use their buy-out clause, but I can’t tell on what day or at what time.

“As far as Herita is concerned, he is happy to stay at the club and at the moment he is waiting for them to use their option to sign him on a permanent basis. He could commit his future to the London club in January, but until that day no meeting has been arranged with West Ham’s directors.

“West Ham have the situation under control and are free to do what they want. As far as we are concerned, Herita’s agents have not contacted other clubs who could be interested in signing him because we respect West Ham.

“But of course if they don’t make a move to convert his loan deal into a permanent one, then we will adopt a different attitude. The club’s economical situation doesn’t worry me at all, I’m sure they will be able to face the challenge. And they have important players in their squad that could help them raise some cash if needed.”