The club have made a bit of a PR mistake by announcing it before the deal was signed.
But, ultimately, it wouldn't have made a big difference. Even if he had signed the deal, he could still have come in the next day and said it was a mistake and he didn't want to play for us. What we would have done? Held him to the contract and paid thousands of pounds a week to a disinterested player? We would have agreed to rip up the contract, same end result, just a little bit less egg on our face.