Manager Glenn Roeder has returned from five days' holiday in France and one of the many faces he is looking forward to seeing when the players report back for the start of pre-season training is that of a…Frenchman.
After Frederic Kanoute's recent comments, where he indicated he would like the opportunity to join Premiership newcomers Fulham, it's fair to say that Roeder will be having a chat with Hammers' leading scorer from last season when the squad reassembles for the first time at Chadwell Heath next Wednesday.
Glenn says: 'I'll be seeing all the players and Fredi is of course one of them.
'I was away when his comments appeared and, obviously, I'd rather they hadn't been made.
'Fredi suggested that he would like the chance to join up again with French coach Jean Tigana, who was with him at Lyon a few years back, but players are sometimes misquoted and we'll have to see what he says when I speak to him next week.
'All I know is, Fredi signed a new four-year contract with West Ham last season and when we talk on Wednesday I don't expect him to be saying he wants to leave us.'
Glenn is certainly not overreacting to 23-year-old Kanoute's comments broadcast in an interview on Sky Sports TV.com. He is adapting to modern-day Premiership management fast and says: 'It's part and parcel of football today and these things happen. Look at what Arsene Wenger has been going through recently and the quotes he heard that were attributed to Patrick Vieira.'