Benni Mccarthy

How did it come about that you became a Bafana player? “It’s a long story, it was about a half year before the 1998 World Cup in France and South Africa had qualified. It was around December 1997 and I think they were searching around the world for players with a South African background and I was one of them.

Blackburn want £2.5 million for the forward, more than twice what West Ham are willing to offer as an initial sum, but they are unhappy that McCarthy has missed training this week.

“We will deal with it separately should he remain here after the transfer window has closed,” Sam Allardyce, the manager, said.