Former West Ham United captain makes telling admission about Liverpool interest

Former West Ham United captain Mark Noble reveals interest from Liverpool

Speaking to Happy Hour Podcast (h/t Liverpool Echo), former West Ham United captain Mark Noble admits that there was interest from Liverpool at one point in his career but he does not regret staying loyal to West Ham United.

Noble, who spent 22 years at the London club before hanging his boots at the end of last season and has now taken up a job in the club’s backroom staff reveals how Liverpool had shown interest in the midfielder.

“Yeah (there was interest from Liverpool), actually our goalkeeper coach, who was at Liverpool at the time, Xavi, told me that and he said ‘we spoke about you a lot in meetings’.

“Obviously that never materialised but when I look back now and I see the send off I got and the loyalty I’d shown to the club and the history I’ve created… an extra few grand a week doesn’t compare to that.”

Alongside his agent, it was the Hammers goalkeeping coach, Xavi Valero, who was in Liverpool during the era of Rafa Benitez, admitting the interest which proves that Noble was definitely among the discussions within the recruitment staff.

Many reasons ponder as to why the interest was not continued further but it would be wise to say that a top club like Liverpool does have a record of pretty much every performing player in the top leagues and hence it is normal for clubs to enquire about players.

The player’s decision to stay with his current club also comes into consideration and it can be assumed that eventually Liverpool went ahead with another target, rather than pursuing the former Hammers captain.

This should not take away from the fact that Noble had a very impressive career and has made 414 Premier League appearances, a feat not achieved by many.

Noble’s admission is just of the “if” stories of what could have happened, as we feel frequently after listening to accounts from players and coaches.

With the new responsibility of being the sporting director of the club around his neck now, he would be looking to find ways to transition the team which has seen a dip in form this season.

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Another important aspect for him would be keeping hold of Liverpool target Declan Rice, who has turned into a top midfielder and is a starter for England.

Liverpool are in dire need of new midfielders and Rice certainly fits the bill. It will be an interesting summer transfer window and potentially could see us advance our interest in the West Ham captain.