West Ham United assistant Neil McDonald has indicated that Nikica Jelavic turned down the advances of the club to join Everton last winter.
The Croatian striker left Rangers to sign with the Toffees in January and has since performed brilliantly with 17 Premier League goals.
Ahead of the Hammers' home clash with Everton on Saturday, McDonald admitted there was heavy interest from the East Londoners but was full of praise for the 27-year old attacker despite him deciding on a Merseyside move.
"There was a definite interest there and we did speak to him. Obviously he went to Everton and scored goals and proved he can play in the Premier League," he said.
"When we saw him at Rangers we thought he could score goals in the Premier League and he's proved that. That's Everton's gain."
