James Tomkins says deciding to leave West Ham United in 2016 ‘broke his heart’ while reflecting on his career.

Last week, West Ham academy graduate announced his retirement from football at 36-years-old after leaving Crystal Palace in the summer.

Tomkins spent almost 20 years at the club, joining the academy as an eight year old in 1997. He went on to make 243 appearances for the Hammers in all competitions, scoring 10 goals before moving to Crystal Palace in the summer of 2016.

In an interview on the official West Ham Podcast Iron Cast, Tomkins said: “I needed to play as many games as I could. That for me, it (a move to Palace) was a good option for me as well, because Pardew knew me from West Ham and he liked me as a lad growing up. For me, it was an easy decision for that as well.

“At the time, it almost broke my heart because I didn’t want to leave. I was there 19, 20 years nearly, so it was a massive decision, but easier to the fact that I had to go out and play games.”

Tomkins was a solid defender for 7/8 seasons at West Ham, his partnership with Winston Reid was crucial in getting us back to the Premier League in 11/12 and continued to be an important first-team player for 5 years after that.

Tomkins struggled to be a nailed on starter in his final season at the club and our final season at Upton Park, when fit Winston Reid was a guaranteed starter, the signing of Angelo Ogbonna, James Collins and the emergence of Reece Oxford meant Tomkins was at best third choice centre back,

This meant he was often pushed out to right back, but even then he had players like Michail Antonio and Sam Byram ahead of him in that role. In fact, he came on at right back for the final five minutes in the last game at the Boleyn to see out the 3-2 win over Manchester United. The perfect way for him to say goodbye to the club.

Even though there is a little bit of rivalry between Crystal Palace and West Ham now, there really wasn’t at the time, and even if there was I don’t think there is one West Ham fan that would have a problem with James Tomkins. Throughout the podcast you could tell he absolutely loves the club and he can’t wait to attend more games at the London Stadium now he has the time.