Alaves defender Guillermo Maripan has said he was left in an “awkward” position after a move away from the Spanish club fell through over the summer.

The Chilean international says he is now focused on playing for his current club, but he was left frustrated by the speculation surrounding his future:

“I felt a little awkward because I would prefer that these things about transfers are resolved quickly. I only know that today I am an Alaves player, that my mind is here 100% and that is what I have made known to the coach and my teammates.”

“Today I am an Alaves player and that’s how I feel; I would like to answer that for sure (for how long), but many things happen in football.”

West Ham were heavily linked with signing Maripan. Reports earlier in the summer indicated that the Hammers had made a £9.5m offer for the 25-year-old.

However, it became apparent that Alaves were demanding that any interested club should pay the centre-back’s €25m (£23m) release clause.

With West Ham seemingly priced out of a move for Maripan, they opted to focus on recruiting more offensive players instead, with Sebastien Haller joining for a club-record fee from Eintracht Frankfurt.

Considering the Irons’ poor start to the season defensively, though, they may go back in for the Chilean in January if things don’t improve.