With the inevitable evacuation of many-a-West Ham player soon to come to fruition, it looks as if their talismanic vice-captain will be first to switch alliances. Along with Scott Parker, some of the other big names likely to jump ship this summer are looking like Robert Green, Carlton Cole and the prolific Demba Ba, despite the Senegalese international only being at the club for six months.
One can hardly blame Parker for moving on however. The central midfielder has carried himself excellently over the past year, juggling an unending amount of transfer speculation with the duty of carrying the Hammers pretty much the whole season, on his own at times. Some of the highlights over the past campaign were winning the FWA Footballer of the Year as well as massive praise for his leadership, including an emotional half-time speech at the Hawthorns to earn the Londoners a point after being 3-0 down.
Unlike the majority of players these days, Scott has kept his mind on his current club instead of letting money and gossip fill his head. If effort counted for anything in the cutthroat Premier League, Parker would be bringing his teammates top-flight action next season. As it is though, it wasn’t enough and the Hammers saw the drop, making the England international’s departure almost a sure thing.
Harry Redknapp was rumoured to be seeking the midfielder’s services, however amidst all the controversy regarding the Olympic Stadium, the East-London outfit now look unlikely to be selling to Spurs. Tottenham’s West London rivals, Arsenal, were another team mentioned in the running to buy Parker, but will now be facing heavy competition from Liverpool.
Roy Hodgson was in the hunt for Blackpool’s Charlie Adam in January, and Parker, who plays a similar role for West Ham, could be Kenny Dalglish’s more expensive alternative. Parker is said to be available for around £12m, as no matter how good he’s been, he’s still 30 years-old. If Parker doesn’t end up leaving his current club this summer, owners David Gold and Sullivan will be as flabbergasted as everyone.