West Ham have completed their first piece of business since the appointment of new manager Slaven Bilic.
Spanish U21 midfielder Pedro Obiang has joined the Hammers from Serie A side Sampdoria for what is believed to be a fee of around £5m.
The deal was officially confirmed on the club’s website this afternoon, the 23 year old signed a 4 year contract.
This is a deal that has been in the pipeline for some months now, and both club and player are pleased to finally get the deal completed.
A box-to-box midfielder, Obiang is definitely a like for like replacement for last season’s loanee Alex Song.
Obiang highlighted his excitement about joining the club when he was unveiled at Upton Park this afternoon.
“I’m very happy to have signed, we have been talking about this for a long time and now I’ve finally got the chance to come here,” said the Spanish international.
“I went on holiday after the season had finished and I was looking forward to receiving that call to tell me where and when to sign for this Club!
“I’m very excited to play in the Premier League. It’s a style of football that will help me to progress as a player and as a person, so it will be very good.”
Obiang made 35 appearances for Sampdoria last season, scoring 3 goals, helping them to qualify for a Europa League spot. He’s made over 100 appearances in all for Il Blucerciati in a 5 year stint.
West Ham fans will be hoping this is the first of many signings made this summer, as the club enters a new era under Slaven Bilic.
Obiang had this to say about his new manager on the club’s official website;
“I think Bilic is a manager that can do very well here. I know that he was a West Ham player and he did very well with the Croatian national team.
“He is a manager that likes to play good football and I really like that so I am sure that we will get along very well.”
A number of European clubs were in for Pedro Obiang, so this is something of a small coup for West Ham who continue to display lofty ambitions for their future.
This is indeed a very exciting period in West Ham’s history with a new manager and a new stadium on the horizon, the owners will be hoping this is just the beginning of a successful legacy in East London.
Writer’s view: This is a great signing for West Ham. Although relatively young, having well over 100 appearances under his belt for a good Serie A outfit should mean he’ll adapt to the Premier League without too many teething problems.
This is exactly the sort of signing West Ham needed to make after the departure of Alex Song, he’ll fit in snug alongside Cheikou Kouyate and will likely cost a lot less in wages than Song would have done.
It will be interesting to see where Bilic goes next in the market. A right back and a class centre forward are the next two areas of the squad to visit.