5 players who handed in infamous transfer requests in the Premier League

#4 Jermain Defoe

Jermain Defoe burnt his bridges with West Ham thanks to an ill-timed transfer request

Due to his relationship with the late Bradley Lowery, most football fans now see Jermain Defoe as one of the game’s good guys – in a game full of greed and treachery, he provides a bit of heart. It’s pretty surprising then to think that just a few seasons ago he was seen in an entirely different light – particularly by the fans of West Ham. And it all came about by one simple transfer request.

West Ham were relegated from the Premier League in the 2002/03 season and with a team full of young stars – Defoe was joined by Paolo Di Canio, David James, Michael Carrick and Joe Cole amongst others – their fans probably expected a large exodus as Premier League clubs were guaranteed to be sniffing around their squad.

What they didn’t expect was for one player – Defoe – to put in probably the fastest transfer request ever. Defoe’s request came in less than 24 hours after the Hammers’ relegation had been confirmed, like the first rat looking to jump a sinking ship.

West Ham’s fans were naturally infuriated, although it’s worth pointing out that his then-manager Trevor Brooking put it down to “bad advice” – probably from a leech-like agent – rather than Defoe’s own wishes, as he felt that the behaviour wasn’t in the player’s nature. The club unsurprisingly refused the request. Unfortunately, Defoe’s attitude didn’t improve over the summer as he started the season with disciplinary problems – three sendings off – and he was duly packed off to Tottenham in January 2004.

Defoe has since apologised for his actions and thankfully he seems to have been forgiven by most people in the game – although whether hardcore Hammers fans would ever truly forget the episode is a question mark.