World Cup: Transfer deal for Mexico’s Hernandez nears U-turn
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Although striker Javier Hernandez is still fighting for a spot in Mexico’s World Cup lineup, he had even more reasons to play well in Wednesday night’s friendly with the Netherlands in Freiburg, Germany.
Millions of reasons, in fact.
Turns out Hernandez’s much-ballyhooed $10-million transfer deal with England’s Manchester United is being held up while Man U tries to convince the British Football Assn. that Hernandez merits a work permit as an ‘elite player.’
The FA must grant a ‘certificate of sponsorship’ endorsing Hernandez’s permit application, and before doing that it must be convinced that the 21-year-old is so good he merits special recognition. So far the FA appears unswayed, pointing to Hernandez’s failure to play in 75% of the Mexican national team’s fixtures over the last two years.
The FA really didn’t have to work that hard. Hernandez wasn’t even a regular for his club team, Chivas of Guadalajara, until last summer and had played just once for the national team before February, when he took a big jump up in status with three goals in Mexico’s first two World Cup warmups.
He has fallen on times recently, however. Hernandez played poorly in Mexico’s final three games in North America and was a second-half substitute in his first appearance before the FA on Monday in Mexico’s 3-1 loss to England at London’s Wembley Stadium.
Manchester United has been down this road before, of course. England’s premier club team had to call off a $3.2-million transfer deal with Brazilian defender Celio Silva in 1997 when his work-permit application was rejected. And Korean midfielder Ji-Sung Park was allowed to play for Man U in 2005 only after he won an appeal of a similar rejection.
Hernandez is scheduled to join Manchester United following the World Cup.
-- Kevin Baxter reporting from Freiburg, Germany