West Ham United have been forced to abandon their bid for Ajax's Miralem Sulejmani after he failed to secure a work permit, skysports.com reports. The Hammers had agreed a deal to sign Sulejmani, who is Ajax's record signing after they paid Heerenveen more than £13million for his services just two years ago.
However, Sulejmani - a Serbian international - has just eight caps to his name and they have been spread over two years, meaning he did not automatically qualify for a work permit under Premier League criteria.
West Ham appealed the decision, but an independent football panel ruled against Avram Grant's side.
