Jermain Defoe has named the two players who made him realise he had made the right decision to join West Ham back in 1999.
At the age of 16, Defoe joined the Hammers in a controversial move from Charlton Athletic, having originally been spotted by the Addicks, who enrolled him in the FA National School of Excellence at Lilleshall in 1997.
But just two years later, he was signed by Harry Redknapp at West Ham, with Defoe embarking on a professional career that has seen him play for several different clubs, including Tottenham, Portsmouth, Sunderland and now Rangers.
And Defoe has been recalling his decision to join West Ham as a teenager, with the former England international admitting that he knew he had made the right call when he met to players at the training ground on his first day at the club.
Speaking to Sky Sports as part of a Transfer Talk podcast, Defoe said: "At the time, I didn't really understand it, but I had to go and sit at a tribunal. They said it was an illegal approach. I was at Charlton and I can imagine they had high hopes for me to go on and play in the Charlton first team, but I had to go to the tribunal.
“When I signed for the club and met Harry [Redknapp] and he took me round, the first person I saw was Wrighty [Ian Wright] and you can imagine I was in my element, this was a dream, someone who I had idolised as a young kid, with all the posters on my wall, all the goals that he scored for club and country.
“The next person I saw was Rio [Ferdinand] and it was an unbelievable welcome, and from that moment I knew I had made the right decision, especially being such a young kid, and the first team manager showing that sort of interest, it was amazing.
“I couldn’t believe it, this was going to be my workplace, and someone I was trying to emulate in my school days in the playground, and knowing that he could be there, it was amazing."
During his time at West Ham, Defoe scored 41 goals in 105 games in all competitions, before going on to join London rivals Tottenham in February 2004.
