10 Players You Didn't Know West Ham Almost Signed
Mascherano and Tevez weren't the only superstars who almost became Hammers.
West Ham have never strangers to the bizarre. Sports media outlets came to a virtual standstill on transfer deadline day eight years ago, when following the 2006 World Cup, Javier Mascherano and Carlos Tevez - two of the most sought after youngsters in world football, and linked with a host of top clubs - defied everyone to become Hammers. Real Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal had been sniffing around the duo for the best part of 18 months, so there were jaws on the floor when press photos emerged of the immensely talented pair holding up Hammers jerseys, sandwiching a beaming Alan Pardew, who could hardly believe his luck. (That he decided neither were good enough within a matter of ludicrous months is neither here nor there).
Gazumping the elite clubs on that particular occasion must have come as quite a welcome shock to West Ham supporters, but what they dont realise is how close they have come to signing the proverbial superstar from under the noses of the hierarchy in the past. With the flamboyantly lavish David Sullivan and David Gold having assumed the reigns of control four years ago, there was always going to be a danger of them trying to live beyond their means after all, these are the same men who tried to sell the Birmingham City job to World Cup winner Marcello Lippi.
Take a look at the top ten players that West Ham came to within a whisker of signing in recent years. We promise you that Tevez and Mascherano were not the only times that the club from Upton Park dared to dream big.