It is a measure of just how much the landscape has changed in the Premier League over the last quarter of a century that John Hartson, who once joined West Ham United for a club-record fee, now sits 77th on their all-time list.
Between Sam Byram in 78th and Diafra Sacko in 76th.
Modibo Maiga, Edimilson Fernandes, Julian Faubert and Savio Nsereko also set West Ham United back more than the sum they paid to take John Hartson from Arsenal in 1997.
If reports are to be believed, West Ham paid Manchester City a £4 million loan fee to sign Kalvin Phillips on a disastrous loan deal during the second-half of the 2023/24 campaign. Some £800,000 greater than the initial £3.2 million sum the Gunners received, just before the Millennium, for a striker who found himself stuck behind the legendary Ian Wright and Dennis Bergkamp in Arsene Wenger’s pecking order.
Yet, at the time, the likes of West Ham cult hero Ian Bishop viewed Hartson’s arrival as a turning point of sorts.
“It was different,” Bishop recalled, speaking on the Ironcast podcast recently. “That was when the sort of bigger money came in, and [many of the long-serving West Ham players] were still stuck on our contracts.
”It was a little bit uncomfortable, to be honest with you, because somebody is getting 15 grand a week and the rest are getting three grand a week!”
Hartson, though, would get used to the pressure that comes with a record-breaking transfer fee. He became Wimbledon’s most expensive signing in 1999. Ditto Celtic in 2001.
MORE WEST HAM STORIES
Speaking to the official AFC Wimbledon website, the big Welshman now looks back on his decision to leave Highbury for Upton Park, while shedding some light on a prospective switch to Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United.
John Hartson celebrates alongside Frank Lampard and Eyal Berkovic for West Ham United
12 Sep 1998: John Hartson of West Ham United celebrates his goal with team mates Neil Ruddock and Frank Lampard during the FA Carling Premiership match against Liverpool at Upton Park in London. West Ham won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Ross Kinnaird /Allsport
Brian Kidd wanted former West Ham favourite John Hartson at Manchester United
Ferguson famously claimed in his 1999 autobiography, ‘Managing My Life’, that former Red Devils assistant Brian Kidd had pushed for the signing of Hartson before bringing Aston Villa hitman Dwight Yorke to Old Trafford instead for a cool £12.6 million.
Given that Yorke would fire Man United to the treble in a 29-goal debut season, even Hartson is happy to accept that Ferguson got this one right.
Didn’t he always?
“Well, Sir Alex Ferguson put it in his book that Brian Kidd came to watch me at West Ham, but they decided to sign Dwight Yorke instead,” Hartson says.
“So, it didn’t turn out too badly for them really!”
Hartson explains why Arsene Wenger was frustrated with Arsenal exit
In his first full season at West Ham, meanwhile, Hartson’s tally of 24 goals was more than he managed across three campaigns with Arsenal.
“Arsene wanted me to stay, he wanted me to learn off Wrighty and Dennis Bergkamp,” the three-time Welsh Footballer of the Year adds. “There were a lot of games where me and Wrighty played up top and Dennis Bergkamp played in the hole behind us.
“I always had a feeling that Wrighty and Dennis were a pair that Arsene probably wanted to put together. He always said to me, look, you’re the next man in. There were several times when I came on but I wanted to play football, and [West Ham boss] Harry Redknapp gave me that opportunity to go to West Ham.
“Harry was going to build a team around me.
“That, to me, is better than playing 15 games a season. ‘I’m going to play every game, I’m going to be in them. I’m going to play with Paul Kitson, a young Rio Ferdinand, a young Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Trevor Sinclair, Ian Bishop and John Moncur…’
“A lot of these guys were great players when I went to West Ham and it just gave me a chance. I’d made my name at Luton and obviously I played in two European finals at Arsenal, but when I got to West Ham I felt like I was the main man.
“I was respected by my peers and I improved as a player when I got to West Ham because I was in every week and felt like a big part of the football team itself.
During the nine years I had in the Premier League, that was probably my best period. I scored a lot of goals there. I finished one goal behind Andy Cole in the second year when I got 15 league goals.
“I had some great experiences at Arsenal. It’s a brilliant, brilliant football club. But actually the move to West Ham actually turned out in my favour.”