“Fulham behaved badly”: Bordeaux president fumes over deadline-day dealings

Sabaly

The Senegal international was targeted by the Cottagers as they looked to reinforce their defence late in the window, but a deal could not be completed.

Fulham reportedly met Bordeaux’s £12 million release clause for the player but received no response from the Ligue 1 club and therefore the move could not go through.

However, the French club’s president Frederic Longuepee pointed the finger of blame at the Craven Cottage outfit.

“I’m astonished that a club dared contact a player without talking to the club first,” he told RMC.

“We received an offer at 8.03pm. There was a clause in his contract that would have allowed us to do a transfer, but Fulham behaved badly.

“Sabaly expressed a desire to go, but we’re counting on him for the second half of the season.”

Alasdair Mackenzie is a freelance journalist based in Rome, and a FourFourTwo contributor since 2015. When not pulling on the FFT shirt, he can be found at Reuters, The Times and the i. An Italophile since growing up on a diet of Football Italia on Channel 4, he now counts himself among thousands of fans sharing a passion for Ross County and Lazio.