Throughout the 2024/25 season, we're taking a look at some of the best players to have worn a range of squad numbers for West Ham United, since they were introduced for the start of the 1993/94 campaign.
Vote for your favourite No8 from the four chosen nominees below!
All West Ham No8s since 1993/94 | ||
|---|---|---|
1993-1994 | 2007-2011 | 2014 |
1994-1997 | 2011 | 2014-2018 |
1998-2003 | 2012 | 2018-2021 |
2003-2004 | 2012-2013 | 2021-2024 |
2004-2007 | 2013-2014 | 2024-present |
Trevor Sinclair
DOB: 02.03.73 WHU: 1998-2003 Apps: 206 Goals: 38
Born in Dulwich, but raised in Manchester, Trevor Sinclair emerged through the ranks at Blackpool and enjoyed a spell at QPR before signing terms with Harry Redknapp’s West Ham United in January 1998, aged 24.
Perhaps then famed for an incredible bicycle-kick goal he had scored for Rangers a year before his arrival in the east of the capital, Sinclair quickly hit the ground running in Claret and Blue, netting twice on his debut and seven times in 14 appearances in total in the second half of 1997/98 to contribute to an eighth-place finish.
A knee injury in 2001 was all that ever really kept him from being a regular starter throughout his five-and-a-half-years at the Club, while his form and ability to play in a variety of positions saw him finish as runner-up in the 2000 Hammer of the Year award, and earn all but one of his 12 England caps while a West Ham player, including four at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Scott Parker
DOB: 13.10.80 WHU: 2007-2011 Apps: 129 Goals: 12
The significance of Scott Parker’s impact at West Ham United is demonstrated by the fact he was crowned Hammer of the Year at the end of three of his four full seasons with the Club, in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
A product of the Charlton academy, Parker had earned a high-profile move to Chelsea and then enjoyed a spell as Newcastle captain before reuniting with his former Addicks boss Alan Curbishley at Upton Park in June 2007.
Injury delayed his debut in Claret and Blue until that September, and though he endured further niggles in 2007/08, he emerged as a key cog in the Irons wheel in the remainder of his time at the Club. Indeed, despite West Ham’s relegation in 2010/11, Parker was named the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year at the end of that campaign.
After featuring in the first four games of the 2011/12 EFL Championship season, Parker left for Tottenham, before finishing his career at Fulham. The former England international is currently the manager of second-tier side Burnley.
Cheikhou Kouyaté
DOB: 21.12.89 WHU: 2014-2018 Apps: 147 Goals: 15
Cheikhou Kouyaté arrived in east London after impressing during a six-year spell at Belgian giants Anderlecht, where he won multiple league and domestic cup honours, and played in the UEFA Champions League.
Already a Senegal international by that point, and a feature of the 2012 London Olympic Games, Kouyaté impressed in his West Ham debut against Tottenham, which prompted then boss Sam Allardyce to compare him to Patrick Vieira.
After completing the full 90 minutes of the unforgettable 3-2 win over Manchester United in the final match ever to be played at the Boleyn Ground, in May 2016, Kouyaté then became the first player to score at London Stadium, in the UEFA Europa League qualifying-round win over NK Domzale two months later.
Now 34, the 2021 CAF Africa Cup of Nations winner left for Crystal Palace in August 2018, and departed Nottingham Forest after a two-year stint in summer 2024.
Pablo Fornals
DOB: 22.02.96 WHU: 2019-2024 Apps: 203 Goals: 23
Spain international Pablo Fornals bade an emotional farewell to the West Ham family at the end of the 2023/24 winter transfer window, following four-and-a-half unforgettable seasons with the Hammers.
Senior spells at Málaga and Villarreal preceded Fornals’ switch to London Stadium in 2019, and he went on to score memorable goals in Premier League wins over Liverpool, Aston Villa, Leicester City and Southampton, the latter of which clinched the Club’s qualification for the UEFA Europa League in May 2021.
He endeared himself to the Claret and Blue Army for singing a rendition of ‘West Ham are Massive’ following victory over Sevilla in the Europa League round of 16 in March 2022, while he will always retain a place in Club folklore after netting the goal at AZ Alkmaar that confirmed the Irons’ passage to the UEFA Europa Conference League final in May 2023.
The 28-year-old currently plays for Spanish La Liga side Real Betis, under former Irons boss Manuel Pellegrini.
