Sunderland striker Jermain Defoe says he regrets taking advice from his agent when he asked for a transfer after West Ham’s relegation to the Championship in 2003.
In an interview with FourFourTwo magazine, the England forward admits he was also at fault for making the decision but he blames it on his naivety and inexperience:
“When we got relegated, my agent, who was also inexperienced at the time, said, “You need to hand in a transfer request as everybody else is going to leave. I was young and naive, and all I was really thinking about was wanting to play football. Would I do the same thing now? No way. I would never hand in a transfer request and I would never advise a young lad to do it, either.”
Defoe looks to be still taking an agent’s advice though going by the report in the Evening Standard today. James Olley reports that with the player available on a free transfer this summer, the 34 year old will demand wages of £100,000 a week, and a signing-on fee of £6million from West Ham to re-join the London club.
Bournemouth, another of Defoe’s former clubs, are also said to be interested in signing the forward but it is unlikely they will be able to match the player’s contract demands and compete with the likes of the Hammers.
