Speaking to FourFourTwo (May 2021 edition, Page 8), Alan Pardew has shared that he wanted to sign James Milner for West Ham instead of Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano.
Tevez and Mascherano joining West Ham remains one of the strangest transfers in the history of the division, but if it was up to Pardew it never would have happened.
Indeed, Pardew says that the board were behind the signing, claiming that he’d rather have signed James Milner in that window.
“When Javier and Carlos came in there was a lot of pressure on me from the board. I wanted James Milner from Newcastle in that window and those two weren’t what I needed. Javier and Carlos both hadn’t played for ages, couldn’t speak English and were struggling to adjust to the Premier League,” Pardew said.
This is certainly interesting to hear.
What would have become of West Ham if they signed Milner instead of Tevez and Mascherano?
Tevez kept West Ham up that year, but would they have even been in that much trouble if they had a player like Milner in the midfield?
Milner has of course gone on to become a bona fide Premier League legend, winning the title three times.
Of course, Milner to West Ham never came to fruition, but it’s interesting to hear that Pardew wanted the Liverpool star instead of the Argentine pairing.
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