This seems like the most likely explanation to me.
i.e. Ward was 'first choice' over Seaborne IF we didn't get Fonte, but having got Fonte it promoted Seabourne to 'first choice' slot over Ward but they carried on with processing the Ward deal IN CASE the Seabourne deal didn't come off.
Cortese and Pardew just covering all options by the looks of it.
Just a hunch
Harsh on Ward perhaps but that's business....