Claim-counterclaim

I know a fair number of lawyers, and most of them seem to have made a disparaging comment at one time or another about the contracts class that they took in law school. I'm starting to understand why.

The latest development in the Carlos Tévez transfer situation regards an amended contract that West Ham offered after Eggert Magnusson's takeover of the club. Kia Joorabchian's lawyers claimed during a High Court hearing Tuesday that the agreement allows Joorabchian's two offshore companies, MSI and Just Sports, to pay West Ham £100,000 to release the Argentinian striker from his contract. West Ham, however, deny that the agreement is valid. The Telegraph reports that the Premier League confirmed West Ham's contention that the amended agreement was not signed by the player and his representatives when it was first offered to them in December. The Premiership said they received a copy of the contract -- not signed by Tévez or Joorabchian -- as evidence for the independent commission that investigated the signings of Tévez and Javier Mascherano. That's a lot more detail than the Times provided, with their headline saying: "West Ham feel the heat after documents shed new light on Tévez saga." I'd argue that, with what we know of them, those documents don't tell us anything except that there is another matter for these two parties to dispute. The Telegraph also said that lawyers for both sides were still discussing a settlement, but the Guardian expressed doubt that the gap between how much Joorabchian is willing to pay and how much the Premiership will expect West Ham to insist upon in order to settle. The BBC reports that West Ham want £3 million.

Meanwhile, Sir Alex Ferguson acknowledged his frustration over the dragging out of the matter. I guess Sir Alex is not used to having to wait to have his way. Eidur Gudjohnsen hasn't decided yet whether having his way includes a move to Upton Park. The Hammers would like to add the Barcelona striker as a replacement for Tévez. Gudjohnsen's father and agent said that his son is definitely considering such a move, in part because of the Iceland connection between Magnusson and Gudjohnsen.