Englishman spent five successful years at Upton Park at the turn of the century.
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Out-of-favour Tottenham Hotspur front man Jermain Defoe has opened the door to a possible return to former club West Ham United when the winter transfer window opens again for business in the new year, according to reports in the Daily Mail.
The England international has only been used as a bit-part player by Tottenham head coach Andre Villas-Boas at White Hart Lane so far this season.
In total, Defoe has made 13 appearances in all competitions for the north London club under the Portuguese, seven of which have come in the Premier League, although only one of those has been from the start.
And despite the 31-year-old having been in eye-catching goalscoring form for Spurs in this campaign, all eight of Defoe’s goals to date have either come in the Capital One Cup or the Uefa Europa League, with the striker having still to register a single strike in the top flight as yet.
As a result, Villas-Boas has preferred to utilise recent new club-record signing Roberto Soldado up front at the Lane, with serious questions now being asked about Defoe’s future at the club.
However, the Englishman has given a strong hint that he may be interested in re-joining the Hammers at some point in the future, telling ITV4’s Sport Life Stories that: “It was a massive mistake (to leave West Ham) – I didn’t really want to do it.
“The person who represented me at the time said, ‘You need to hand in a transfer request and get in early because all the lads are going to leave’
“I remember going in and I was so nervous. It was [then-West Ham chief executive] Paul Aldridge and I gave him the letter and he said, ‘What’s this?’ And I said, ‘It’s a transfer request’. He looked at me as if to say, ‘Are you kidding?’
“The backlash was crazy. I felt like I was on my own and people were absolutely abusing me.
“To this day I can imagine West Ham fans look at me and think, ‘Who does he think he is? How can you do that? You’re a Judas’. And it’s quite sad really because I can honestly say I still love that club.”