West Ham have confirmed the signing of centre-back Jose Fonte from Southampton.
The Euro 2016 winning defender completed his move to the London Stadium on Friday having recently handed in a transfer request in a bid to leave Saints.
Manchester United were believed to have been interested in the experienced Portugal international in the last two transfer windows, but the Hammers have since won the race to secure his services.
“West Ham United have won the race to sign UEFA Euro 2016 winner Jose Fonte,” a statement read on the club’s official website.
“The outstanding Portugal international centre-half joins the Hammers from Southampton on a two-and-half-year contract with the option to sign for another season for a fee of £8million.
“Fonte was linked with a range of clubs in the top flight before opting to move to London Stadium.
“The experienced central defender has enjoyed a successful career in English football since initially joining Crystal Palace in 2007, before going on to make 154 Premier League appearances and captain Southampton for the past three-and-a-half seasons.
“A strong and technically-gifted defender and respected leader, Fonte wants to take his career to another level at London Stadium and revealed that he cannot wait to pull on a Claret and Blue shirt for the first time.”
Fonte went on to add: “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.
“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.”
For more stats on Jose Fonte, click here to view his WhoScored player page
