Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp claims West Ham were contacting midfielder Jamie O’Hara throughout the summer.
Premier League rules state that a player’s club must be contacted before any discussions can be held between the potential buyer and player, but Redknapp claims O’Hara being ‘tapped up’ is nothing new.
He said: “They were talking to Jamie O’Hara all through the summer. Jamie told me he’d been getting phone calls.
“Listen, it happens in the game. We’re all kidding ourselves if we think it doesn’t go in the game. Every player that gets transferred, someone’s ringing him.
“It doesn’t just suddenly happen. An agent will speak to an agent for a player. He will speak to the player. The player says ‘yeah, I’d like to go to that club’ and that’s how it happens.
“If people don’t think it happens at almost 99% of transfers then they are in the wrong world.”