West Ham United captain Mark Noble has made a claim about interest from Tottenham Hotspur that some fans may find hard to believe.
West Ham and Tottenham do battle as the Premier League resumes this weekend.
It was all change for the Hammers with new manager Manuel Pellegrini coming in and spending £100 million on nine players while Spurs were the only team not to sign anyone.
West Ham started the season in disastrous style losing their first four Premier League games under the Chilean but have recovered with wins over Everton and Manchester United and a draw against Chelsea in the league and a record-equalling 8-0 victory in the Carabao Cup.
Meanwhile Tottenham have suffered some indifferent form and sit fifth but are crucially Mauricio Pochettino‘s side are just two points off top with just over a fifth of the season gone.
After turning the corner Pellegrini’s side put in a disappointing first half performance as they lost 1-0 at Brighton last time out. Spurs on the other hand dug in to win a turgid game against Cardiff City 1-0.
Both clubs love to see one of their own graduate and flourish in the first team.
While Harry Kane is the constant for Tottenham, Mark Noble is very much Mr West Ham and even scored his first Premier League goal against their fierce rivals.
But it could have been so different according to the man himself, who wrote in his column with the Evening Standard that Tottenham were once interested in his services.
“Years ago, not long after I had broken into West Ham’s first team, there was quite a lot of talk about a possible move to Spurs but I was always seen as a proper homegrown player and I’m happy with that,” Noble told the Evening Standard.
“You look at other players such as Jack Rodwell and Scott Sinclair, who moved to other big clubs — with mixed outcomes.
“I’ve always said I have no regrets at all. I’ve created a bit of history at West Ham and I think I’ll be remembered a lot more for staying here rather than moving to 10 different clubs.”
While Spurs may be a far superior Premier League force to West Ham in recent years Noble’s suggestion that they are a bigger club than the Hammers will irk fans.
And his comments may also come as something of a surprise to Tottenham supporters who will undoubtedly question whether Noble would be good enough to play for them given the constant one-upmanship between the two sets of fans.
The whole thing is a moot point because Noble has always remained a Hammer and as he rightly says has earned what will surely be legendary status at his boyhood club.
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