Peter Odemwingie is the laughing stock of the English Premier League this morning, after his bid to force deadline day transfer backfired spectacularly.
Former Nigerian international striker Odemwingie was desperate to leave West Brom during the January transfer window and handed in a transfer request.
But the Baggies refused and spurned two advances from QPR, leaving Odemwingie determined to take matters into his own hands.
Yesterday he drove to London from the Midlands without permission from West Brom, and camped outside Loftus Road.
At some stage he was informed that a deal between West Brom and QPR had been reached, which would have seen Canadian international Junior Hoylett head to the Hawthorns in part exchange for Odemwingie.
But without the Nigerian’s knowledge, Hoylett refused to be a makeweight. And before Odemwingie could be told, he had given a statement to the media outside Loftus Road that he was ready to “begin a new chapter” in his career.
QPR obviously feared the wrath of West Brom, and the accusation of tapping Odemwingie up, and issued a quick statement saying the player had arrived "unannounced" and had been "denied access to Loftus Road".
Odemwingie was then forced to return to West Brom with his tail between his legs, where he was met with fury by the club’s executives.
The club’s chairman, Jeremy Peace, labelled Odemwingie’s transfer shenanigans “unsavoury”, and said that the club was"extremely disappointed to witness TV footage of Odemwingie arriving at Loftus Road" without a transfer deal in the offing.
Odemwingie “must now accept the fact he remains under contract for a further 18 months," Peace concluded.
It will be interesting to see if Odemwingie will commit himself to West Brom's cause, as they seek an unlikely qualification for European football next season, or if he will dig his heels in and refuse to play to the best of his abilities.