Chicharito: I wanted to leave West Ham
With the World Cup just around the corner, Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez was eager to leave West Ham in January to find regular playing time and remain in contention to play a prominent role for the Mexican national team this summer.
The 29-year-old has struggled to make his mark since joining the Hammers last summer following his transfer from Bayer Leverkusen.
Despite starting four of West Ham's last seven matches, Hernandez revealed that he attempted to engineer a transfer away from the London Stadium before the winter signing period ended.
"Yes, it was the case that I wanted to go," Hernandez said in an interview with the Darren Lewis of the Mirror. "Not because I don't like West Ham, but because I need to have minutes on the pitch.
"The World Cup is just around the corner and I want to play. But you can see that, even though my agent says I want to go, I have been doing everything I can in a West Ham shirt to help the team.
"Against Bournemouth I scored a goal (in a 1-1 draw), I tried to play pretty well in the (FA) Cup (a 2-0 defeat to Wigan Athletic) and, in the last game, against Crystal Palace (a 1-1 draw), I tried to do my best. I am a very professional guy and I want to do that. ...
"Now that the window is closed I am here and trying to achieve the main goals for the club, which is to be safe from relegation. Then, in the summer, we will see."
Hernandez, who is approaching 100 caps for Mexico, has only found the net seven times in 31 appearances this term.