Everton manager Roberto Martinez said that he was prepared to let Sylvain Distin leave the club on transfer deadline day.
West Ham co-owner David Sullivan has confirmed that he tried to sign "two experienced Premier League defenders" on Monday, reported to be Distin and Tottenham's Younes Kaboul.
Neither Martinez nor Everton have confirmed that the Hammers made an approach for Distin.
But the Toffees boss has said that two clubs wanted to sign the 37-year-old, who is out of contract at the end of the season.
Martinez told the Liverpool Echo: "There were a couple of clubs.
"It would not be right for me to put the names out but there were a couple of conversations and as you can imagine, Sylvain has been a terrific servant for Everton and he is out of contract at the end of this season.
"So it is only normal and fair to have that conversation. At the end, Sylvain is an Everton player and that is the only thing that matters going forward."
In October, Martinez denied that he had fallen out with Distin, amid reports that the two had been involved in a disagreement following the previous month's Capital One Cup defeat at Swansea.
However, the manager did claim at the time that Distin needed a break from the team because he "worked too hard" in training.
Martinez added: "In the windows, you will always get these situations that you have to consider and there were a couple of conversations but nothing developed from that.
"So the future is quite clear, Sylvain is part of our squad and from now until the next game all the players are fighting for their positions and Sylvain is no different.
"What's important is that we have players who are ready to perform and players who are ready to bring a competitive edge to our squad. At the moment, it is important we keep everyone fit and available.
"Sylvain has played a lot of games so his experience is important to us and you always want players fit and competing for places."