Diafra Sakho might not be in the Premier League any longer, but the Senegalese forward still remembers his time at West Ham, where he sporadically performed in between injuries.
Now on loan from Rennes at Bursaspor in Turkey, the striker sat down with his club’s TV channel for a lengthy interview where he discussed his first day with the Hammers and his first meeting with then manager Sam Allardyce.
Arriving from Metz in Ligue 2, there was some skepticism as to the forward’s ability to make the leap to the Premier League, which the one-time England manager shared.
Sakho revealed the conversation they had.
He said, relayed by Rewmi: “When I was meant to sign for the Hammers, Sam Allardyce asked me a question: ‘Diafra, you’ve only played in Ligue 2, so, what can you bring to the club’. I replied by asking him who their top scorer was.
“At the time, it was Kevin Nolan who had eight goals, and I told him that if I played half the games, I’d score 12. In the end, I played 22 games and scored 12 goals.”
Mystic Sakho, right there.
During his four years at the club, the now 29-year-old only made 71 appearances, scoring 24 goals and picking up four assists.
This season, he’s managed just two in 12 appearances, both coming in his first two games for Bursaspor back in September.
