Sullivan has picked fight he can’t win

WHAT point is there in West Ham continuing to argue with Sporting Lisbon over William Carvalho? They tried to get the player; they didn’t get the player. That’s the end of it.

Instead, co- owner David Sullivan issued a statement on Friday that as good as threw manager Slaven Bilic under a bus. He implied that West Ham could have had Renato Sanches from Bayern Munich, or the West Brom signing Grzegorz Krychowiak, but Bilic did not want them. He said Sporting were willing to sell Carvalho (right) on deadline day but it was too late. If the aim was to deflect any criticism of his stewardship, it backfired.

The majority of West Ham supporters like Bilic and do not wish to see him undermined in this way. Having lost three games and bottom of the league, they feel it hurts the club to continue putting pressure on the manager.

Then, as a result of this unnecessary detail about West Ham’s transfer business, Sporting Lisbon director Nuno Saraiva called Sullivan a liar and a parasite, and said the club made no bid for Carvalho. Sullivan is now threatening legal action and has produced details of a £23million offer spread over three years — substantially under what Sporting wanted or what West Ham fans thought had been tabled. There is also some confusion over the process, with Sullivan saying the offer was made to the agent and a Portuguese intermediary, with an email sent to Sporting’s president.

Sullivan feels understandably aggrieved at being insulted, but what does it really matter in the context of a fast unravelling season?

Signing Carvalho would have greatly impressed the fans, but more importantly the players and manager. He is exactly what West Ham need in midfield. Winning a war of words in the aftermath is therefore of little relevance. The only win that West Ham must get is against Huddersfield next Monday. Nothing beyond that counts.