As transfer deadline day in England wound down, Sebastian Lletget was ending a training session half way across the world with the LA Galaxy. It was a break from his previous routine.

“I would be the one sitting back and enjoying the ruckus,” Lletget tells Yahoo Sport UK. “In terms of loans it was always close - and I needed one - but it never happened for me.”

For Lletget the last day of the window meant a final few hours for clubs to make a decision on whether to sign him. At the time he was stuck in limbo at West Ham United. He had learned all he could from U21 games but he wasn’t ready for the rigours of the Premier League. “It was frustrating for sure,” he explains.

A number of clubs in the English third tier had taken an interest but too often he heard maybes and false promises. Then in January of 2015 his agent received a phone call from Bruce Arena, manager of the LA Galaxy. Arena wanted to bring Lletget home to California. “It was really nice to know he believed in me first and foremost,” Lletget said.

What the Galaxy head coach believed in was talent that had been identified at a young age when Lletget spent a week training with River Plate. “That was my first real experience outside of the level around here [in California],” he says. “It was a lot higher [skill level] but I knew I was never going to move there. It was nice to know that they would have taken me on if I lived there but it was a big commitment and I was only 12-years-old.”

At 16, he took that talent and his Italian passport to East London and West Ham. He settled into digs along with 22 other boys and began to adjust to England’s capital. On the training pitch he worked under Gianfranco Zola. “He is the nicest guy in the world. He was best player on the pitch even as a coach,” Lletget says with a laugh.

Zola liked what he saw and Lletget consequently signed a long-term deal. Yet such is the nature of the Premier League, Zola was dismissed after a poor season and after a spell with Avram Grant in came Sam Allardyce. “There was a couple of us on fire at the time, we were giving ourselves every chance [to play under Allardyce],” Lletget explains. “We were top of the reserves league and we were actually playing well as individuals. There was a few of us deserved a chance.”

He would see the field just once with the first team, during an FA Cup tie against Nottingham Forest in which West Ham were demolished 5-0. “I enjoyed it but he [Allardyce] didn’t treat it like it was a Premier League game if you know what I mean, but that’s his style,” Lletget says, admitting that with hindsight he understands his manager’s predicament.

Moving into the final six months of his contract, he sensed opportunities would continue to be sparse. “It’s tough to be seen when you’re playing in those reserve leagues,” he says. “Particularly as you get older because why are the coaches who have ignored you before now going to say yes you know?”

That meant when the offer from Arena and the Galaxy arrived he accepted it. The promise of competitive soccer awaited, but first an extra dose of patience was in order. New England Revolution had placed a Discovery Claim on Lletget. That meant they had first refusal to sign him and any team looking to do so had to compensate the Revs. Some $50,000 later Arena was free to bring Lletget back to California.

“A lot of people ask me oh do you regret going there [to West Ham]? But I really would do it all over again.” Lletget says confidently. “People think I’ve just been playing and having fun but I’ve been preparing for first team football for a long time so I’m ready.”

By his own admission his time in London was a significant learning experience. He grew as a person, sampled a new culture and new experiences and also made a number of friends - many of whom he is still in touch with.

One of those friends was teammate Dylan Tombides. The Australian striker was diagnosed with testicular cancer in summer 2011 before unfortunately losing his battle with the illness in 2014. “He was literally right next to us,” Lletget says. “I actually remember having a conversation with him and the next minute he’s sadly passed away.

A stark reminder of life’s fragility he admits Tombides’ passing influenced his outlook on life and the frustration he was feeling at Upton Park. “It put things in perspective, 1000%,” he says. “It’s so sad that it takes that to realise that, it’s just a reminder to enjoy it because there’s way more bigger things to life.”

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