How West Ham and not Portsmouth was nearly Yakubu’s home to rip apart English defences

The man who arrived at Fratton Park in 2003 and helped complete the job of reaching the Premier League before tearing apart top-flight defences nearly ended up in London with the Hammers.

The Nigerian was undoubtedly one of the most explosive and talented strikers in the club’s history, blasting in 43 goals in 92 appearances - including a run of 11 Premier League goals from 10 games in the club’s maiden campaign at the highest level.

But the striker has revealed how close he came to heading to Upton Park instead of linking up with Harry Redknapp.

Speaking in an Instagram chat with South African journalist Carol Tshabalala, Yakubu said: ‘Portsmouth wasn't the team I was supposed to go to.

‘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.’