West Ham United have boosted their defence with the signings of Fabian Balbuena and Issa Diop, but there was one other player that they were regularly linked to.
Last week, Sky Sports reported that the Hammers were in talks with Alfie Mawson regarding a possible move.
The centre-back, who is rated at £13.5m by Transfermarkt, was tipped to leave Swansea City following the Welsh club’s relegation to the Championship.
Burnley were also thought to be in the running for Mawson’s signature, but Fulham won the race.
On Thursday, the Cottagers announced via their official website that they had signed the 24-year-old on a deal until the summer of 2022.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”255853″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch West Ham’s opening fixtures for the 201819 Premier League season”]
It is a blow of sorts to West Ham as it indicates that Mawson turned them down them in favour of their newly-promoted rivals.
However, the rejection would sting more if Pellegrini had failed to recruit new defenders.
The reaction has been mixed from the fans on Twitter.
