West Ham’s Sofiane Feghouli has been a chatty man over the past week or so, speaking to the press about his past season and his future, but there’s nothing in there that should worry fans about a potential exit.
He explained previously that he had two years left on his deal at the London Stadium, and that he had no intention to seek an exit unless the club made it clear they had other plans.
However, in an interview with Competition, the 27-year-old revealed things could have been a lot different in January, just eight months after arriving at West Ham from Valencia on a free.
He said: “During the winter transfer window, I had quite a few offers, and I decided to have a frank discussion with the manager to see if he counted on me or not since I needed time on the pitch to show what I was worth.
“He reassured me, telling me that I shouldn’t leave and that he trusted me. He even told me that he would give me a shot and that I needed to to continue to work like I was doing.”
It’s worth remembering that reports from Italy suggested the Algeria international came very close to signing for AS Roma back in January as the Serie A club were preparing themselves to lose Mohamed Salah to international duty during the Africa Cup of Nations.
Still, the forward believes there’s a lot of positives to take from his first season at West Ham, learning things ‘that I will use for sure next season’.
As for his good relationship with the fans: “I’m really happy about it. They can see I’m a guy who gives his all, and it’s heartwarming.”
