Javier Chevanton rejected a January switch to the Premiership in order to stay with Lega Pro side Lecce!

Queens Park Rangers and West Ham were ready to take the Uruguayan on loan, but the striker committed his future to the Via Del Mare outfit instead.

“Harry Redknapp and Sam Allardyce were ready to take him with their eyes shut,” agent Pasquale Bruno told the Gazzetta dello Sport.

“I have an excellent relationship with both and they were ready to accept him on loan for six months when I offered him.

“I spoke with the player, but, after a night of reflection, he told me that he didn’t want to leave Lecce.”

It is being suggested that the South American, who earns just €1,000 a month, would have been handed a L15,000 a month contract in England.

The 32-year-old is in his third spell at Lecce, a club who were demoted to the Lega Pro in the summer as part of the betting match-fixing probe.