Yakubu Aiyegbemi, retired Nigeria international striker has revealed that he trained wit h West Ham United before his eventual switch to in January 2003 to Portsmouth.
In an Instagram conversation with South African journalist Carol Tshabalala, Yakubu stated : “Portsmouth wasn’t the team I was supposed to go to but the The Hammers’ inability to make a quick decision over offering me a contract paved the way to join Pompey on an initial loan deal before the move was eventually made permanent.
“I went to West Ham United in the first place, I was in West Ham United for a week for trials and they wanted me to stay more days but my agent said I’d done enough already and they should make a decision now I went back to Nigeria, few weeks later I got a call from my agent telling me there is a team in England, Portsmouth that wanted me. I was so excited coming to England to play in Portsmouth”.
“It was a six-month deal with option. I did so well in six months and I got a three-year contract, all the way from Maccabi Haifa to English Premier League, one of the best leagues in the world. It’s an honour to play for Portsmouth, then from Portsmouth to Middlesbrough.”
The Veteran football players holds the record for the most highest scoring Nigerian in Premier League history having represented the likes of Everton, Leicester City, Blackburn Rovers, Reading Coventry City in England, and Middlesbrough.
