West Ham had reached an agreement with Famalicão for Gustavo Sá. The soon to be Nottingham Forest midfielder rejected the move because he was not convinced by the prospect of playing in the Championship.
That is the explanation now provided by Portuguese newspaper Record, after weeks of uncertainty surrounding a transfer which had once looked close to completion.
According to the report, Famalicão really accepted West Ham’s proposal, understood to be worth €20m (£17.3m). The missing approval came from the player himself.
Gustavo Sá was not enthusiastic about dropping into England’s second tier and therefore declined the move, despite his club being willing to proceed.
West Ham agreement was not enough
That detail finally explains why the expected medical and journey to join West Ham never materialised.
The transfer had reached the point where Portuguese reports were presenting Sá as likely to move to London, but his personal decision stopped the operation from progressing.
Record compares the situation with an approach from Al-Ittihad in January. The Saudi club offered the 21-year-old a huge salary, but he also turned that opportunity down.
The pattern suggests Sá has been particularly selective over his next step. Neither the financial package from Saudi Arabia nor an agreement between West Ham and Famalicão was enough to persuade him.
The Championship appears to have been the decisive problem in West Ham’s case.
In the end, he had no trouble to give a green light to Nottingham Forest’s approach. The club ultimately remained in the Premier League and was now able to finalise the signing of a brilliant Portuguese prospect.
Leaving a lasting mark
As we already covered, his immediate future is expected to include a loan spell at Olympiacos. Also, he just completed his medical exams with Nottingham Forest and will travel to Greece on Wednesday.
As a farewell sign, today’s A Bola focused on what Gustavo Sá leaves behind at Famalicão.
The Portugal U21 international departs after making 120 first-team appearances, scoring 12 goals and providing 15 assists, having progressed through the club’s academy before establishing himself as one of their key players.
His influence went beyond the numbers. Despite being only 21, Sá captained Famalicão and helped lead the club to a fifth-place finish last season, the highest league position in their history.
The youngster’s departure therefore closes a remarkable chapter in Vila Nova de Famalicão, with the midfielder leaving as one of the standout figures of the club’s most successful era.
