Hernandez wanted to leave West Ham in January

Javier Hernandez admits he wanted to leave West Ham in the January transfer window over fears he may not get into Mexico’s World Cup squad.

A £16million return to the Premier League from Bayer Leverkusen has not gone to plan for Hernandez, who has scored just five goals in 24 appearances in all competitions this term.

Hernandez has only started two Premier League games since David Moyes was appointed in November. The striker also saw his game time reduce significantly when the Scot became Manchester United manager in 2013.

Though the 29-year-old is his country’s record goalscorer, with 49 goals in 99 caps, he has only played in three of their last six games played in official international windows and Hernandez hopes he can convince Moyes to give him the minutes he craves ahead of Russia 2018.

“Yes, it was the case that I wanted to go,” Hernandez told the Daily Mirror. “Not because I don’t like West Ham, but because I need to have minutes on the pitch.

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“The World Cup is just around the corner and I want to play. But you can see that, even though my agent says I want to go, I have been doing everything I can in a West Ham shirt to help the team.

“Against Bournemouth I scored a goal, I tried to play pretty well in the [FA] Cup [a 2-0 defeat to Wigan Athletic] and, in the last game, against Crystal Palace, I tried to do my best. I am a very professional guy and I want to do that.

“Words can come and go. Your acts are going to speak for themselves.

“Now that the window is closed I am here and trying to achieve the main goals for the club, which is to be safe from relegation. Then, in the summer, we will see.”