Champions League winner now says he almost signed for West Ham in a ‘weird deal’…
West Ham United have missed out on a few interesting signings over the years.
Indeed, the Hammers have had their fair share of transfer targets who didn’t quite come off.
Marco Materazzi nearly joined West Ham years ago, Phil Jagielka almost signed for the Hammers at one point, and now, another high-profile defender has claimed he almost signed for the London club.
Speaking on the Business of Sport Podcast, Ryan Bertrand has claimed that he almost signed for West Ham at one point, but he found the whole situation very strange.
Ryan Bertrand in action for Southampton vs West Ham
Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images
Ryan Bertrand almost joined West Ham
Bertrand spoke about how he almost signed for West Ham at one point in his career.
The left-back says West Ham’s owners wanted to sign him, but Sam Allardyce wasn’t so keen as he’d just signed Aaron Cresswell from Ipswich.
Ultimately, Bertrand found this situation strange and he ultimately rejected the chance to join West Ham.
“Yeah, a few offers. West Ham at the time. And that was a bit of a weird deal. Weird, weird deal,” Bertrand said.
“Why?” Bertrand was asked.
“Because I think Allardyce was there, and I think he just brought Cresswell from Ipswich. But then the owners wanted to bring me in. I don’t want to be that guy where the ownership brought me in and the manager’s like, I’ll play him, but I just brought my guy in,” Bertrand added.
“It was just weird. And there was a few others.”
Ryan Bertrand’s record vs West Ham
Bertrand regretted the chance to sign for West Ham all those years ago, and that may be a decision he ultimately regretted making.
Of course, Bertrand had a fantastic career in his own right, he was a Champions League winner with Chelsea and he was a solid performer for Southampton for a long time, as well as an England international.
However, West Ham were always something of a bogey team for Bertrand as he continuously struggled to get the better of the Hammers throughout his career.
Ryan Bertrand’s record vs West Ham
Games 12
Wins 4
Draws 1
Losses 7
Bertrand had a poor record against West Ham, and, at times, he probably wished he was playing for the east London club as he suffered numerous bad results at both Upton Park and the London Stadium.
Leave a Reply