West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini has said that Leverkusen central midfielder Charles Aranguiz turned down a move to the Hammers.

When asked about which Chilean players he has worked with over the years in an interview with a Chilean magazine, Pellegrini said:

“In the past I took several [players]: Salas, Rojas, Matias Fernandez, Iturra, Moras; I have taken 7 or 8 Chilean players. I tried to take Aranguiz to West Ham, but he did not want to [go].”

It isn’t known when Aranguiz was offered the chance to make the switch to West Ham, but it was likely last summer during the club’s extensive recruitment drive.

Both Carlos Sanchez and Jack Wilshere arrived to strengthen the centre of midfield and the Chilean was probably the main alternative to either of those two players.

Pellegrini doesn’t specify why Aranguiz turned down the move. It may have been the fact that he couldn’t be guaranteed first-team football with captain Mark Noble rivalling him for a place in the starting line up.

The 30-year-old made 29 appearances for Leverkusen last season, scoring three goals and providing eight assists.