'I wanted to join West Ham on transfer deadline day but Tottenham blocked the move'

Emmanuel Adebayor was on the brink of signing for West Ham United in 2015, but the move was allegedly thwarted by Daniel Levy. The Togolese forward had successful spells at Arsenal and Manchester City before joining Tottenham Hotspur in 2012 after a fruitful loan period.

Despite not reaching his peak at White Hart Lane, he still netted 18 goals in 59 appearances for Spurs after becoming a regular player. Although he was eventually transferred to Crystal Palace in 2016 as a free agent, Adebayor could have offered some return on the £5million fee Spurs paid Manchester City for his earlier transfer.

That's because West Ham were incredibly close to securing Adebayor in January 2015, until then-chairman Levy is alleged to have declined to approve the move. Adebayor claims that around five clubs were keen to take him on loan at the time, with Upton Park being the most attractive option.

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However, as Levy allegedly viewed the Hammers as a direct Premier League competitor, Adebayor ultimately remained at Spurs. Speaking to Sky Sports News, Adebayor said: "The club decided to send me out on loan, which I was pleased with, and I was lucky enough to have five good clubs [interested].

"I decided to go for three, to see which one I should choose, and finally when I chose the one I wanted to go to, unfortunately Mr. Levy was against it because there was a rivalry between Tottenham and the club I wanted to go to. The club decided I should stay, which I am very happy to do. I am here to do my job."

Adebayor also revealed that QPR had shown interest in securing his services on loan for the remainder of the season, having already built a solid rapport with Harry Redknapp during their time together at Spurs. He added: "Harry Redknapp is a great manager.

"He was the first person who brought me to Tottenham and I really liked him as a manager. But I decided to go to West Ham because of their position in the league. They are fighting, doing everything to finish into the top four.

"And also because I could have played alongside some of their players, like Alex Song, who is like a brother to me. I wanted to go to West Ham instead of QPR."

Following his switch to Crystal Palace in January 2016 on a short-term contract, Adebayor endured just six months at Selhurst Park before being shown the door. In the years that followed, he featured for Istanbul Basaksehir, Kayserispor, Olimpia and Semassi, before hanging up his boots in March 2023.

He also scored 32 goals in 87 appearances for Togo at international level between 2000 and 2019. It comes as West Ham suffered a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of the Lilywhites on Saturday evening, as the pressure continues to mount on Graham Potter.

Pape Matar Sarr opened the scoring for Spurs at the opening of the second half, before Tomas Soucek was shown a straight red for a high challenge on Joao Palhinha moments later. Spurs then capitalised on their opponents being a man down, with Lucas Bergvall and Micky van de Ven finding the scoresheet to secure all three points away from home.

It comes as West Ham's third loss of the season from four games in total, also suffering defeat at the hands of Sunderland and Chelsea in their opening two weeks. And given that West Ham are currently sat 18th in the Premier League table, the board may be looking at the suitability of Potter at the club going forward.

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