Portsmouth’s Lauren: West Ham cash couldn’t convince me

The Cameroon defender said: “I had a couple of approaches from Spain and was thinking about them.

“The week before joining Pompey I’d been talking to West Ham and they were offering me more money.

“But then I met Harry Redknapp and he made me feel comfortable. It made me think twice.

“He was a big influence in my decision. I saw that he is very close to his players and I was really impressed by the club’s ambitions, to get into Europe next year, to get the new training ground and new stadium.

“I wanted to be a part of that and that’s why I chose to come here.”