Credit: Imago / Liam Tuffs on YouTube

Dan Godfrey

Thu 17 April 2025 7:57, UK

West Ham United had all manner of central midfielders down the years upon which many supporters now look nostalgically.

Of course, the constant throughout the entire era was Mark Noble, now sporting director at the London Stadium and overseeing the plethora of new young talent which rises through the ranks as he did at his hometown side.

Noble is the only Hammers player to surpass 400 Premier League appearances in the famous claret and blue, doing so between 2005 and 2022 to earn the epithet ‘Mr West Ham’.

Joey Barton reveals West Ham story about Noble – ‘soft lad’

Noble was an ever-present throughout years of Premier League football at West Ham, a key figure across the chapter in which the Irons moved from Upton Park to their current home in Stratford.

The number of players who played alongside Noble for a considerable period who remain in the squad are slowly decreasing, as times change and are expected to do so a lot more this summer with several senior heads out of contract.

Joey Barton, speaking on his Common Sense podcast (16 April), claimed he was at Rush Green for two days with a move to West Ham imminent, but it was supposedly closed off by what he believes to be influential players inside the dressing room.

Barton explained he then moved to Burnley instead and was named in the PFA Team of the Year the following season – which would have made the near-miss with the Hammers in 2015.

He hinted Noble could have been behind discouraging the transfer, which he believes is due to the difference in ability between the two players and that Barton would have immediately taken Noble’s place in the midfield.

“I did my medical. I was two days in the building, very close to signing for them. At the last minute, it just disappeared, and I went to Burnley,” he recalled.

“It was under Slaven Bilic – but I don’t think it was Bilic, I think it was a couple of lads in the dressing room, like Mark Noble and that. I can see if it was him, it fits because I was well better than him, and I’d have just taken his jersey.

“There would’ve been nothing he could do. I could’ve just said ‘come here, soft lad, sit on the bench and watch someone who’s better than you play every week’. I’ll never know, I heard, I got told it was a couple of players. I’m just putting two and two together and making 15 there.”

Did Mark Noble stop @Joey7Barton signing for West Ham? pic.twitter.com/dKjo11OnJK

— Common Sense with Joey Barton (@Common_SensePod) April 16, 2025

Hammers old guard set to depart this summer

West Ham United could move towards a younger and more contemporary squad outlook in the coming months, as Graham Potter and the hierarchy decide who they wish to keep around.

There are five senior players heading towards the end of their contracts at the end of this season, including the iconic Michail Antonio, who has been a Hammer since the Upton Park days and was a long-time teammate of Noble.

Aaron Cresswell, Danny Ings, Vladimir Coufal and Lukasz Fabianski – the latter who turns 40 on Friday – also see their respective deals expire in the summer, with discussions to be held fairly soon.

Potter’s squad could look a far cry come the 1 September transfer deadline to how it does now, given the uninspiring season the Irons have produced.

For now, six Premier League matches remain, starting with the visit of relegated Southampton to East London this Saturday (19 April).