Defoe departure another Hammer blow

WEST HAM fears were realised yesterday when Jermain Defoe became the first Hammer to seek a transfer, less than 24 hours after the club’s relegation from the Premiership.

The England U-21 striker, who was an ever-present for West Ham during the season and scored 11 goals, feels he must move on in order to further his career. The 20-year-old said: "As much as I love West Ham United, I feel that now is the right time for me to move on in my career.

"This is very much a career decision. I am very ambitious and hungry to achieve at the highest levels of the game for both club and country.

"The club staff and especially the fans are very dear to me and have been unbelievable in the early part of my career. It will always be a special place for me to play."

Defoe did not break his duck this season until the 3-2 win at Chelsea at the end of September, but hit a rich vein of form as the Hammers' form improved. He failed to score in the club's final six games as their fight for Premiership survival proved unsuccessful, but is regarded as one of the club's most saleable assets and has already been linked with Manchester United.

While many West Ham fans will understand Defoe's desire to continue playing in the top flight, they are unlikely to be impressed by the timing of his decision. Tony Fowles, editor of the 'Ironworks Gazette' fanzine, said: "We are all still a bit numb at the moment and so the timing of this stinks. Jermain is a highly talented young player and you can understand why he might not want to play in the First Division next season, but you'd have thought he'd have waited until relegation had sunk in. I have already received several emails from fans saying they were expecting it to happen, but not this quickly. He might have waited until the summer, or even until Glenn Roeder had undergone his brain surgery.

"Jumping ship is not a new experience for Jermain and some people are comparing this to the way he walked out on Charlton to join West Ham, but I don't think it is the same thing because he was still at Lilleshall in those days.

"Maybe there will be a positive to come out of this. If West Ham can get £10-£12 million for him then, hopefully, there will be less of a need to sell some of the other players.

"We expect David James to go because he will need to stay in the Premiership, if he is going to continue as England goalkeeper but, once the club get some money for him and Defoe and also from releasing the likes of Paolo di Canio, then maybe they can afford to hang on to the likes of Michael Carrick and Joe Cole."

Defoe was one of several players expected to be in demand from other top flight clubs, along with Cole, Carrick, Frederic Kanoute, Glen Johnson, Trevor Sinclair and James.

Defoe, who joined from Charlton nearly four years ago, flourished in a loan spell at Bournemouth in 2000-01 and made an impact in his first season in West Ham's first team, scoring 14 goals in a season which saw the Hammers finish seventh in the Premiership in 2001-02.

He was forced to play all of the season just finished because of injuries to di Canio and Kanoute, and he caught the eye again.

Despite Defoe's transfer request, caretaker manager Trevor Brooking insisted there was no need to hit the panic button.

"It is a time to reflect," Brooking told the club's website, www.whufc.co.uk. "There is no panic button being pressed in the East End we have got two or three months in the summer when I am sure things will happen as we decide what we need to do.

"We need to try and deal with the financial implications but also try and keep the nucleus of the squad which will give us the opportunity to feel they start with the chance to try and bounce back."