West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini said that he turned down the opportunity to sign midfielder Yaya Toure. The former City midfielder will probably join Olympiacos, having completed a medical there.
Toure’s agent Dimitry Seluk tweeted that Toure is not joining West Ham. Seluk tweeted, “It’s not West Ham, 100%. Yaya is a champion. The last place is not for him.”
It's not West Ham, 100%.
Yaya is a champion. The last place is not for him 😃 https://t.co/eDGeI0EvFf— Dimitry Seluk (@dmitriseluk) August 28, 2018
When asked about Seluk’s tweet, Pellegrini replied, Unfortunately they were the words of Yaya’s agent. I spoke to Yaya, I know him and appreciate him as a person. He is a very good player but in the moment, when we were doing our squad list, that position was covered for other players. We needed money to bring in players in other positions so we explained to Yaya clearly why he cannot come here. I hope he will find a good club, a big club because he is a very good player.”
Toure played under Pellegrini at Manchester City during the latter’s tenure there as head coach.
Pellegrini also said that Marko Arnautovic will be available for the match against Wolves on Saturday. He said, “Marko had a small problem behind his knee. In the last game [against Arsenal] he was not comfortable to play the final minutes, but he has had all the examinations with the doctor and worked the whole week.”
