Burnley move for Sunderland player takes new twist - West Ham could pounce | OneFootball

Reports of the collapse of transfer negotiations elsewhere over the loan of a promising young winger collapsing could be good news for the Irons.

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Ian was born in London in 1972. From 2006 until 2021, he ran the football website Twohundredpercent, and from 2021 to 2023 he was a senior features writer for Football365.

He has been freelancing since then, contributing to Fotmob and When Saturday Comes. He won FSA awards for Twohundredpercent in 2012 and 2015, and received further nominations in 2014, 2022 and 2024.

Ian played as a left-back at an extremely low level of the game until he was in his mid-30s and his knees started to rattle every time he stood up. He now lives in West Sussex with his two children. His knees still rattle, but at least they haven't got anyworse.

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West Ham United had been interested in taking the Sunderland winger Jocelin Ta Bi to The London Stadium, and transfer deadline day reports could open a window of opportunity for them.

With just two points taken from their opening three matches back in the Championship, West Ham United are finding that the second tier can be an extremely difficult division. A 1-1 draw at Watford on Saturday left them in 17th place in the table, some distance off where they'd have been hoping to be after their first three games.

The transfer window offers the club the opportunity to bring in fresh recruitment ahead of a gruelling season ahead, and the Irons may have their interest piqued by the news that Jocelin Ba Ti, a player who they'd previously expressed an interest in, could be available following the collapse of talks between his current club Sunderland and Burnley over a potential move to Turf Moor.

Jocelin Ta Bi's proposed move to Burnley is off, and West Ham could pounce

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Matt Scrafton of the Burnley Express has confirmed on the social media platform X that negotiations between Sunderland and Burnley over a proposed transfer of the promising young winger Jocelin Ta Bi have ended, with Burnley having decided not to move for the 21-year-old.

It had previously been reported that Burnley were set to pip West Ham and Hull City to the player's signature on a year-long loan, and its failure to move ahead now gives the Irons a window opportunity, should they still be interested in taking the Ivorian to The London Stadium for 2026-27.

Ta Bi was not in the Sunderland match-day squad for their match against Fulham on Sunday, with head coach Regis Le Bris, who'd previously said that there was a chance that Ta Bi would be staying at The Stadium of Light for at least the first half of this season. saying that a move was "still possible" for the player.

Burnley's Ta Bi decision proves West Ham with a window of opportunity

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Jocelin Ta Bi only signed for Sunderland in January of this year, but it's clear that the move has not gone as a winger would have expected. He made his debut for the Black Cats in an FA Cup match against Oxford United in February. Already struggling with an ankle injury, he also made one Premier League appearance for them, again as a substitute, in their 3-1 home defeat against Fulham.

Ta Bi was part of Sunderland's pre-season tour of the USA in the summer, but the decision to allow him to travel to Burnley for talks rather than be in their match-day squad for their last match against Fulham. He was an unused substitute for the opening match of their campaign against Ipswich Town.

The winger had impressed while playing in the Israeli Premier League for Hapoel Petah Tikva on loan from Maccabi Netanya, and when the signing was confirmed, with a four-and-a-half year contract, the Black Cats' sporting director Krisjaan Speakman said, "We believe in the player and we believe in our approach to developing talent, so we are looking forward to starting the journey with him and I'm sure our supporters will also enjoy the attributes he brings to our team."

But this now doesn't appear the case, following the summer transfer window. West Ham have already brought in three left-wingers this summer - Keiber Lamadrid, Edvin Austbø and Manor Solomon - but nobody on the right, so bringing Ta Bi in would bring a little more balance to their squad. There's not long left for them to do it, but this unexpected decision by Burnley could provide West Ham with a window of opportunity.