I regretted not joining Liverpool when I was invited by Steven Gerard 

I regretted not joining Liverpool when I was invited by Steven Gerard

A veteran Premier League striker has admitted his regret at turning down a move to Liverpool when Steven Gerrard himself was pushing for him to join the club.

Gerrard was well-known for using his persuasive powers to tempt players into joining him at Anfield, with some attempts proving more successful than others.

Former West Ham striker Bobby Zamora has admitted he was among those courted by the ex-Reds captain during his playing days, expressing regret that he didn’t heed the advice of his fellow England international.

Speaking on the Under The Cosh podcast, Zamora revealed Gerrard once tried to talk him into a move to Liverpool, claiming that he “should have got five years” at Anfield.

“I should have probably gone to Liverpool from Fulham,” explained the 42-year-old.

“Roy [Hodgson] went to Liverpool. They bid and Spurs bid at the same time, £10 million the pair of them.

“When I played for England, my first game against Hungary, I get in the lift with my best pal and Stevie G goes, ‘Mate, f***ing brilliant today, well done. Would you come to Liverpool?’.

“I was like ‘yeah, yeah, yeah’ so he said ‘I’ll speak to Roy’.

“I’d just had my girls. Mark Hughes was like ‘you’re going to be my key man, I need you, we’ll give you new a deal’. I don’t know why, but I said ‘Yeah OK’.

“But yeah, I probably should have gone to Liverpool. Regardless of the fact Roy didn’t do great there.

“I should have got five years at Liverpool. You can’t hit a few branches coming down from there.”

Zamora made 252 Premier League appearances across his career, registering just two friendly appearances for England of which both came under Fabio Capello.

He scored twice in 17 appearances against Liverpool in all competitions, but clearly caught the eye of Gerrard while the pair were away on international duty back in 2010.

While it is admirable that he believes he could have chalked up half a decade in a Liverpool shirt, the arrivals of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge in 2011 and 2013 respectively make that something of a bold claim, it is fair to say!

Gerrard definitely had an eye for a player, but this ultimately proved to be a move that never quite materialised for both parties.