Former Liverpool striker Ryan Babel makes major West Ham United transfer admission
Ryan Babel has confirmed that during his Liverpool days he was very close on moving to West Ham as part of a swap deal with Carlton Cole.
In an interview with Soccer News [9 December], the Netherlands international said that while it was close, he was never really open to moving to the Hammers.
His agent was also not kept in the loop about the move and eventually, he ended up staying put at Anfield.
He said, “I have been very close to a transfer to West Ham United. There was concrete talk of an exchange deal for Carlton Cole, but that did not go entirely according to plan. I was told it was on loan and that I would return to Liverpool later.
“But on transfer deadline day I found out that West Ham were going to buy me, and I didn’t want that at all. Moreover, my agent was not aware of this either. When push came to shove, my agent and I decided not to do it, so the transfer did not go through.”
All for the best
If Babel was a flop for Liverpool where he played with world class players around, he would almost certainly struggle to be a game changer for West Ham.
In 91 Premier League appearances for the Reds, he scored just 12 goals for them and eventually ended up leaving for a less competitive league but struggled to make a mark in Germany as well.
We’re delighted that the club did not let Cole leave for an exchange involving Babel and hindsight proves it to be the right decision.
Coming to the present, the Hammers do need to sign another attacker over the January transfer window, ideally a versatile one.
A number 10 will be the priority but if David Moyes is able to sign an attacking midfielder who can play on the wings as well, then nothing like it.
However, what’s more likely is for the Hammers to first sign a defender and there’s good news on that front as a medical has already been scheduled.