West Ham United have missed out on some interesting transfer targets over the years.
Phil Jagielka nearly signed for West Ham when he was younger, while Joe Cole told West Ham to sign Harry Maguire when was still at Hull.
Jagielka and Maguire are two top centre-backs, but. Interestingly, West Ham were once also interested in a much more high-profile defender.
Indeed, speaking on Rio Ferdinand’s podcast, former Italy star, Marco Materazzi, has claimed that West Ham really wanted to sign him at one point.
The defender says that Paolo Di Canio used to call him every single day about a move, but, in the end, he chose to head back to Italy to give himself a chance of getting into the national team.
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West Ham wanted Marco Materazzi
Materazzi spoke about West Ham’s interest in his services
According to the defender, the Hammers were really keen on him when he was at Everton.
However, he chose to return to Italy in order to work his way into the national team – where he would eventually win the World Cup.
“West Ham wanted me when Di Canio called me every day, hey, you have to come in London. You know, I was in Liverpool. Liverpool is amazing for football, but the city is…” Materazzi said.
“Now it’s much better, right?
“Di Canio, what a guy, man. Yeah, I love Di Canio,’ Ferdinand said.
Yeah, and then he wanted me at West Ham, but I decide to back because I want to try to go in the national team
Who did West Ham sign instead of Marco Materazzi?
West Ham failed in their pursuit of Materazzi in 1999 as he left Everton to join Perugia instead.
However, West Ham did dip into the defensive market in those years.
Indeed, the Hammers signed Gary Charles from Benfica – who would go on to play just eight league games for the club.
After Charles flopped, West Ham went back into the market the next summer and signed Rigobert Song, who, also, duly struggled in east London.
Luckily though, West Ham’s defensive issues weren’t a huge problem at this time.
As ever, West Ham could turn to their academy for help, and it was around this time that a young player by the name of Rio Ferdinand was making his name at Upton Park.
Materazzi and Ferdinand would’ve made a seriously incredible partnership had they played together at West Ham, and who knows what the Hammers could have achieved had they played together.
