10 Players You Didn't Know West Ham Almost Signed
9. Loic Remy
Loic Remy is the sort of player who jumps from club to club, but is never happy unless he's looking up at bigger opportunities and contracts. With every goal he plunders into the back of the net, his monstrous ego grows, feeding the notion that he is playing at a side unworthy of his God-given talents. As he puts pen to paper on a contract at Liverpool this season, dont be surprised if he suddenly has aspirations for a Juventus or a Real Madrid next season.
However, he hasnt always been like this. After all, QPR owner Tony Fernandes didnt exactly have a gun planted to the back of his head, quoting a line from The Godfather, when presenting him with a four and a half year contract in January 2013. In 2010, when Remy was still just a young talent at lowly Nice, he was already pining for the bright lights of English football. A relegation-threatened club from London, with owners willing to resolve the problems through the acts of cheque-scribbling, were ready to offer him a lucrative contract to join their project. Sound familiar?
''I would like it to be sorted quickly. Ive always loved the English league. Ive always dreamed of playing in England. When a club like West Ham is on the cards, its always interesting. But nothing has been done, the clubs need to find an agreement, and Nice are asking for a lot of money. Loic Remy, 2010.
With the Hammers having agreed to pay a sum total of £11.3 million, in four instalments, for the future French international, the transfer was ultimately curtailed by the failure to pay the proposed up-front fee of £7.5 million.