“Roy (Hodgson) came in for me” – Bobby Zamora reflects on the Liverpool transfer that never happened

Former England striker Bobby Zamora reveals how he almost became a Liverpool player

Former England striker Bobby Zamora has revealed he almost joined Liverpool under Roy Hodgson back in the last days of Gillet and Hocks’ ownership of the club.

Zamora was a target for Hodgson after the manager left Fulham to take charge of Liverpool in 2010. Speaking on the Say It and Spray It Podcast podcast, The Premier League veteran disclosed Hodgson tried to sign him from his former club that summer.

‘Roy (Hodgson) came in for me at Liverpool and Harry Redknapp came in for me at Spurs, but Mark said he wanted me to stay, and I’d just had my twins in August.’

With Liverpool struggling for goals as Fernando Torres declined, Hodgson turned to Zamora, who was coming off a good season at Fulham. But new Fulham boss Mark Hughes was determined to keep the striker, convincing him to sign fresh terms.

‘The end of the transfer window was coming and they both bid, I ended up signing a new contract and broke my leg the next day.’

Just a day after putting pen to paper on his new deal, Zamora suffered the unfortunate injury blow. At 29 years old, a move to Liverpool could have revived his career. But then he would have been an underwhelming signing for a side that was on the decline. We all know how well Paul Koncheslky’s arrival went down with the Anfield faithful.

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Instead, Zamora stayed at Fulham, where he would never rediscover his best goalscoring form. Meanwhile, Hodgson’s successor Kenny Dalglish signed Luis Suarez months later in January 2011.

Suarez became a Reds legend while Zamora saw out his career at Fulham before retiring in 2016. It was a sliding doors moment that dramatically changed the trajectory of Zamora’s playing days after Hodgson’s thwarted effort to sign him.