West Brom Respond To Hull City Criticism Over Shane Long

Posted by

Baggies explain why striker move was cancelled.

Check in to Fulham vs West Bromwich Albion

West Brom have responded to criticism from Hull City manager Steve Bruce over the late cancellation of a deal to see striker Shane Long leave the Hawthorns for the KC Stadium.

According to Sky Sports, the Baggies released an official statement this evening denying that this decision came as a result of Romelu Lukaku’s move on loan to Everton, despite it looking like he would be returning to the club for a second season on loan.

In fact, West Brom claim that, while a fee had initially been agreed with Hull, the newly-promoted Premier League side then lowered their offer to one that was not deemed acceptable by the midlands club.

West Brom’s sporting and technical director Richard Garlick is quoted as saying: “Hull unexpectedly contacted us on Monday and tabled an acceptable offer for Shane. Given that every player has his price, we discussed it as a club.

“We accepted Hull’s offer in principle and gave them permission to speak to Shane, but the deal depended on many other factors – including a real reluctance to sell.

“In a phone conversation with Shane’s representative, I informed him that Shane was under no pressure to leave. We were definitely not trying to force him out.

“Hull then informed us they could not finance the deal they had tabled and wanted to reduce it to a level that the club would never have accepted in the first place.

“Given that Shane was not a player we were looking to sell, we ended all negotiations with Hull there and then.

“Contrary to media reports, the decision to keep Shane had absolutely nothing to do with Romelu Lukaku opting to join Everton.”

Long has been a key player for West Brom over the last couple of seasons, scoring 19 goals for the club in the last two seasons and earning a reputation for being a handful for most Premier League defences.

Hull saw him as a good option upfront, having failed to bring in other targets such as Nicklas Bendtner and Peter Odemwingie, with the former staying at current club Arsenal and the latter opting to join Cardiff City.

More Stories Hull City FC West Bromwich Albion FC