Hands up who remembers the last West Ham United player to earn a nomination for the Ballon D’Or on the back of his stellar displays at the Premier League outfit?

No, it wasn’t Declan Rice, not even during West Ham United’s Europa Conference League-winning campaign of 2022/23. Both of the former captain’s nominations have come since his move to Arsenal, a fact which again brings into question the PR which often comes hand-in-hand with a big-money transfer.

Jarrod Bowen has never been nominated. Neither has Lucas Paqueta.

So the answer to that question, the most recent player to earn a place in the Ballon D’Or rankings while wearing that claret and blue jersey, is actually Dimitri Payet. He finished 17th back in 2016, his eventual ranking inflated substantially by a few fabulous performances for home nations France in that summer’s European Championships.

Flash forward to the 2025 edition, and Ousmane Dembele’s crowning moment, the footballing gods appeared to turn their mirth towards Manchester United once again. During a year in which no Man United players were selected for the final-30, Scott McTominay can now point to a Scudetto, a Serie A Player of the Year award, and an 18th-place finish in the Ballon D’Or rankings as proof of the kind of riches which can be found away from Old Trafford.

The very same Scott McTominay who was the subject of a £30 million bid from West Ham just two years ago.

Former West Ham United target Scott McTominay beats Declan Rice in Ballon D’Or rankings

And how Graham Potter could do with him now.

While Wayne Rooney bemoaned West Ham’s set-piece defending following that 2-1 defeat by Crystal Palace, McTominay’s former Man United captain also highlighted the lack of a Declan Rice or Mark Noble-esque enforcer in the centre of the park.

Yet, if West Ham had succeeded in luring McTominay to the London Stadium just weeks after accepting Arsenal’s £105 million bid…

Well, there are not many midfielders capable of emulating the box-crashing talents of ball-carrying brilliance of Rice. McTominay, at least the Napoli version of McTominay, is perhaps one of the very few.

That 18th place finish in the Ballon D’Or rankings sees the Scotland international finish ahead of, to name but a few, Jude Bellingham, Fabian Ruiz, Erling Haaland, Virgil van Dijk and a certain Arsenal powerhouse.

Just to stoke the fires of frustration at the London Stadium, West Ham signed James Ward-Prowse after seeing their £30 million bid for McTominay rejected by Man United. Given the varying directions their respective careers would take since then, the Red Devils may not be the only ones sifting through the Ballon D’or standings with a rueful sigh.

Wayne Rooney says West Ham need another Rice or Mark Noble

According to The Telegraph, West Ham might have twisted Man United’s arm by raising their offer from £30 million to £45 million.

A substantial increase – especially given that the McTominay of 2023 and the McTominay of 2025 are two very different beasts – but certainly far greater value-for-money than the older, slower, increasingly-ineffective James Ward-Prowse at £30 million.

“Over the past 10 years, the success West Ham have had has been when you’ve got players like Mark Noble and Declan Rice,” Rooney, who retired shortly after McTominay made his Man United debut, tells BBC Sport.

“Players who have got quality on the ball. They’re going to take the game by the scruff of the neck, lead the other players and put tackles in, and that runs right through the team.

“Then the other players react to that. That’s what West Ham are missing, that leader in there who’s going to do that for them.”

West Ham held talks with Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy – who finishes 21st in the final Ballon D’Or list – when he was playing in his native France for Amiens in 2020.