West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce revealed on Wednesday that his side's mooted move for former Real Madrid, Arsenal and Chelsea midfielder Lassana Diarra had fallen through.
France international Diarra, 29, had been training with West Ham after leaving Lokomotiv Moscow in August, but his hopes of joining the club were dashed by an administrative issue.
"I have to say we have waited and we have negotiated for weeks to get the right deal and now we've got it, we find we can't get the right paperwork and the right clearance, so we have wasted his time and our time," Allardyce said after his side's 0-0 draw at Southampton in the Premier League.
"On the basis of the situation we're in right now, he would have been a very crucial player for us between now and the end of the season."
In a further blow to the east London club, striker Andy Carroll left St Mary's on crutches after hurting himself on his return from an injury sustained against former club Liverpool last month.
"The sad thing for us is the injury to Andy Carroll, which we can ill-afford to take with our injury problems," Allardyce added.
"It's the same knee. He got kicked in the back of the knee and felt something wrong. He stayed up and was a nuisance. I just hope that staying on hasn't done any more damage.
"He got fit in two-and-a-half weeks (after the Liverpool game), but clearly it's going to take longer this time because it's the same injury."
Source: AFP