Jose Fonte completes £8m move to West Ham from Southampton to help rescue their season
Defender signed a two-and-a-half-year deal at the London Stadium and called Hammers a "great" club
WEST HAM have completed the £8m signing of defender Jose Fonte from Southampton.
The Portuguese centre-back inked a two-and-a-half-year deal with the London club as he bids to help them climb up the Premier League table.
Fonte : “I signed for West Ham because they are a great club and a very big club. They have a lot of fans and I have known for a number of years how passionate they are.
“The manager was also a very big influence. I thought that he really wanted me and that he sold me the project and the ambition of the Club.
“I also have part of my family living in London and they are big West Ham fans. It just made sense for me at this stage to join West Ham. It is a new challenge and a new beginning and I am looking forward to it.
“With the way that West Ham is going we can only look to be challenging in the top eight.
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“I told the manager in conversations that we want to win and we want to win trophies. The ambition is big and we need to aim high.
“West Ham are a massive club and it is an exciting challenge and it should be for everyone. We all need to get together and start working.”
Fonte, 33 – who was a key man as Portugal won Euro 2016 and had been linked with Manchester United – revealed in December that Southampton were not going to offer him a new deal.
The Hammers only have Winston Reid, Angelo Ogbonna and James Collins as their senior centre-backs, with midfielder Cheikou Kouyate forced to play in defence at times.
Fonte joined Southampton from Crystal Palace in January 2010.
He has helped the club rise from League One to the Premier League, playing 286 games in seven years for the Saints.