Sam Allardyce has stated that he could have signed Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy for West Ham United during his tenure in east London.

This revelation came while he was on talkSPORT, as he admitted: "He [Mickey Mellon] rang me up and he said ‘We can’t sign Jamie Vardy; he won’t stay with us Sam. Give us a million quid and it will be the best signing you have ever made’.

“And that was quite a bit of money for a non-league player, I’m talking 2011, in my first season at West Ham.

“I just wondered if Jamie could jump out of the conference and come in for our first year of the Premier League.

“So I didn’t do it and I have been kicking myself ever since because he went to Leicester instead with Nigel [Pearson] and [Craig Shakespeare] Shakey.”

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The striker has gone on to have some career despite Allardyce's doubts, winning the league title with the Foxes during a season in which he broke the record for goals scored in consecutive Premier League games.

While there are many fans who have mourned the fact that they didn't get to see the former England international in claret and blue, there are plenty of others who simply see this as Vardy having a lucky escape.

The opinion seems to be that he would have been ruined at West Ham, getting injured or failing to adapt to the direct style of football Allardyce played, before being shipped off to a team lower down the footballing pyramid.

A selection of Twitter reaction to the revelation, including posts from doubtful West Ham fans, can be seen below: