Daily WHUFC News - 2nd September 2015

Thanks to Trevor , Steve & Gary for filling in whilst I was on holiday :)

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Song completes West Ham return
WHUFC.com

West Ham United are delighted to confirm the capture of Alex Song from FC
Barcelona on a season-long loan. The 27-year-old Cameroonian midfielder is
already familiar with the Hammers having spent last season on loan at the
Boleyn Ground from the Spanish giants. He follows Pedro Obiang, Dimitri
Payet, Darren Randolph, Carl Jenkinson, Manuel Lanzini, Angelo Ogbonna and
Stephen Hendrie in joining the Hammers this summer as the Club builds for
the final season at the Boleyn Ground. With 28 Barclays Premier League
appearances for the Club already under his belt, Song is looking forward to
the new campaign under Slaven Bilic. He said: "I am very happy. For me it
was very important to come back because when I was here I had a great
rapport with the fans and the Club. "It was a very easy choice for me to
come back here and I'm very happy to be here. "When I left I didn't know I
would come back here. It was not easy but at the end of the day, the most
important thing is I'm here now and I'm very happy. "I feel at home,
everything feels at home, for my family too, they're set up very well here.
My kids are playing for West Ham academy. "Everything was in a good place
for me to come back here and I'm very happy to be here. It's a pleasure and
it's like I never left here. I'm still here and I'm happy. "This is a new
year, new players have come in and we have the new manager. Everything is
changing but the way that the Club wants to be, we have to look at the
ambition of the Club and we have to finish better than we did last year."

Douala-born Song made a big impression while on loan with the Hammers in
2014/15, featuring in 31 games in all competition and captaining the team on
three occasions. He started his professional career in France with Bastia,
where he made rapid progress to the first team, debuting as a 16-year-old in
the 2003/04 campaign. Just a year later he moved to Arsenal on loan,
signing permanently with the Gunners in the summer of 2006. Song made
Barclays Premier League and UEFA Champions League appearances in his first
season with the Gunners, despite still being a teenager, and following a
loan at Charlton Athletic, established himself as a first team regular for
Arsene Wenger. He moved on to Barcelona in 2012, having made 206 appearances
for the Gunners, picking up a League Cup runners-up medal in 2011. An
all-round midfield player capable of breaking up play and prompting attacks
of his own, Song added to his trophy haul at the Nou Camp, winning La Liga
and the Supercopa Espana in 2013, finishing as runner-up in the league and
Copa del Rey the following year, before returning to England with the
Hammers in summer 2014.

Internationally, Song was capped 47 times by Cameroon, finishing second in
the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations and featuring in the last two FIFA World Cup
finals. In January 2015, Song announced his international retirement, citing
his wish to focus on his domestic career.

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Moses signs on loan
WHUFC.com

West Ham United are delighted to announce that Chelsea winger Victor Moses
has signed for the Club on a season-long loan. Moses, 24, makes the move
across London to link up with the Hammers on Tuesday's transfer deadline.
The 5'10 creator has spent the last two seasons on loan at Liverpool and
Stoke City and is delighted to have made the switch to the Boleyn Ground.
Moses said: "I am very pleased to have joined West Ham. They are a great
Club and the atmosphere here is amazing with the fans. "I want to add my
quality to what West Ham already have and hopefuly we can do even better
than last season. I am very pleased to work under the new manager. "There is
a huge amount of talent with Alex Song and Nikica Jelavic joining the Club
and I want to help the Club finish as high up in the table as possible.
"Andy Carroll is a great striker and has a lot of experience in the Premier
League. All the forwards have got a lot of experience and I want to help
them score more goals."

Born in Kaduna, Nigeria, Moses grew up in south London and began his
football career with Crystal Palace, making his debut aged just 16 in
November 2007. He immediately became a regular in the Palace side and played
69 games for the Eagles in all competitions before completing a £2.5m move
to then-Premier League team Wigan Athletic in January 2010 His rapid
progress continued at the DW Stadium, where he spent two full seasons and
made 74 top flight appearances. Moses' form attracted the interest of
Chelsea, who brought him back to London in August 2012. He made 43
appearances in his first season with the Blues, scoring ten goals –
including four in the Club's successful UEFA Europa League campaign.
However, he was loaned to Liverpool early the next campaign and played 22
games for the Reds, before another loan and 23 appearances followed at Stoke
City last term. On the international stage, Moses turned out for England up
to U21 level, but chose to pledge his allegiance to Nigeria in 2011, since
going on to feature in his country's victorious 2013 Africa Cup of Nations
campaign and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

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Hammers seal Jelavic deal
WHUFC.com

West Ham United are delighted to confirm the transfer of Croatia striker
Nikica Jelavic from Hull City on a two-year contract, with the option of a
further two, for an undisclosed fee. The 30-year-old frontman completed his
move after successfully passing a medical at Spire Roding Hospital – the
Club's Official Private Hospital – and will link up with his former national
team boss Slaven Bilic at the Boleyn Ground. Jelavic has scored goals in the
Barclays Premier League for Everton and Hull City over the last three years
and adds to a striking unit which also features Diafra Sakho, Andy Carroll,
Enner Valencia and Mauro Zarate. He told whufc.com exclusively: "I am very
excited to be signing for West Ham United, especially as it is a big Club
and I didn't know until a couple of days ago that I would have the
opportunity to come here. "Of course it is always a target to play in the
Premier League, so when I found out that West Ham wanted me there was no
doubt that I wanted to come here. "I've played for Slaven before for the
Croatia national team and he is a great manager and a great man. I am really
happy and delighted to be working with him and all his staff again. "I'll be
joining a team that's on a high after the result on Saturday."

Born in Capljina on the Bosnia-Croatia border, Jelavic's professional career
began under the management of Bilic at Hajduk Split, but he moved across
Europe to sign for Belgian side Zulte Waregem at the age of 21. One season
in Belgium preceded a two-year spell in Austria with Rapid Wien, where he
found his goal touch to net 27 times in 71 league outings. The United
Kingdom and Glasgow Rangers was the 6'2 frontman's next stop, and he was yet
more prolific during his time at Ibrox, scoring 19 goals in his first season
and 17 in the first half of 2011/12, earning a January 2012 move to Everton.
Nine goals in 13 Premier League games that season was a fine way to start at
Goodison Park and he added a further eight in his second season with the
Toffees. January 3014 brought his move to Hull, but eight goals last term
couldn't prevent Steve Bruce's side from suffering relegation to the
Championship. Internationally, Jelavic won 36 caps for his country and
travelled to UEFA Euro 2012 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup, but he called time
on his Croatia career late last year.

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Cullen rewarded with new contact
WHUFC.com

West Ham United are delighted to announce that teenage midfielder Josh
Cullen has signed a new long-term contract with the Club. The Hammers
youngster, who made his Barclays Premier League debut in Saturday's 3-0 win
at Liverpool, has been rewarded for the immense promise he has shown.
Cullen, who will join up with the Republic of Ireland U21 squad for the
first time this week, also featured in the UEFA Europa League qualifying
rounds and will hope to earn more first-team appearances over the weeks,
months and years to come. "I'm delighted to get the deal done and extend my
time at West Ham," said Cullen, who turned 19 in April and has now committed
his future to West Ham until 2018. I'm over the moon to get another couple
of years and I'm looking forward to the Club moving forward and hopefully
progressing to the first team. "The last couple of months have all gone
quite quickly and I've had to take step back to take it all in. Obviously
playing in the Europa League was a great experience, playing in front of a
packed Upton Park was a special moment. "Then going on at Anfield [for my
Premier League debut] on Saturday was another moment that I'll remember for
the rest of my life. "The whole of the last couple of months have been
fantastic and I just hope that it can continue. "I've just got to take it
week-by-week, day-by-day as it comes. I've got to keep working hard, impress
the manager playing for the Under-21s and hopefully I can get more first
team opportunities."

An all-action central midfield player who was born and raised in the Essex
resort of Southend-on-Sea, Cullen joined the Academy of Football as a
schoolboy and totalled 43 league and cup appearances for the U18s over two
seasons between 2012 and 2014, scoring once.
Cullen's displays saw him win the Dylan Tombides Award for being the
Academy's outstanding player for the 2013/14 season – a campaign in which he
also amassed ten U21 appearances and one goal. Capped by England at U16
level before switching his international allegiance to the Republic of
Ireland in early 2014, Cullen made his Ireland debut at U18 level in a
friendly double-header with Czech Republic in April 2014. Three months
later, he appeared in the West Ham first-team's 2-2 pre-season friendly draw
at Stevenage.

After making his Republic of Ireland U19 debut in a 1-0 friendly win over
the Netherlands in September 2014, Cullen enjoyed a breakthrough 2014/15
season when he starred for the Hammers Development Squad and was named on
the first-team substitutes' bench on a number of occasions. In July this
year, he made his senior West Ham debut in the UEFA Europa League first
qualifying round against Andorran side FC Lusitans, before starting again in
Romania against Astra Giurgiu. Having now been handed a Barclays Premier
League bow at Anfield and a new long-term deal, it is hoped Cullen – likened
by many to Mark Noble in playing style and attitude – will continue to go
from strength to strength in a Claret and Blue shirt.

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Hammers catch winger Antonio
WHUFC.com

West Ham United are delighted to announce the signing of exciting winger
Michail Antonio from Nottingham Forest. The Wandsworth-born wideman has put
pen to paper on a four-year contract with a further two-year option for an
undisclosed fee, becoming the Hammers' 12th senior arrival of a busy summer
at the Boleyn Ground. Antonio has been earning rave reviews for his
eye-catching displays for the Tricky Trees, winning Player of the Year
honours at the Championship club last season and scoring four goals in five
appearances so far this term. Now, the 25-year-old will be unleashed on the
Barclays Premier League for the first time in a career that has blossomed in
recent seasons – and he cannot wait for the opportunity. "I'm buzzing and
finally happy to be back in London at a massive club," Antonio told West Ham
TV. "I've always been around London and I came to a couple of games here
when I was younger, so I'm happy to be finally here and at a club I watched
when I was younger. "I've worked my way from non-league and finally got to
the Premier League to show what I can do, and if the fans don't know me from
the Championship, what I bring to the table is pace, power and goals, so
hopefully I can do that this season. "I can't wait for the challenge of
playing in the Premier League. It was one of the things growing up, where I
wanted to be, testing myself against the best competition and, seeing West
Ham's result of winning 3-0 at Anfield, it shows I'm coming to a great team
that's established in the Premier League. Hopefully I can put my mark down
here at the club."

A quick, direct and athletic player, Antonio enjoyed a prolific start to his
career as a teenager with non-league Tooting & Mitcham United, earning him a
move to Reading. The Londoner spent three seasons with the Royals, totalling
33 appearances and also being loaned to League One quartet Cheltenham Town,
Southampton, Colchester United and Sheffield Wednesday. At Southampton,
Antonio starred under the management of former Hammers boss Alan Pardew,
scoring the final goal in the Saints' 2010 Football League Trophy final
victory over Carlisle United at Wembley Stadium. Antonio's form for the Owls
during his loan spell led the Hillsborough club to take the winger to South
Yorkshire in the summer of 2012. There, he excelled during two full seasons
in the Championship, scoring 18 goals and chalking up 19 assists in 84
appearances. August 2014 saw Antonio move to Nottingham Forest, where he
made a fantastic start to life at the City Ground, contributing three goals
and three assists to be nominated for the Championship Player of the Month
award within weeks of joining. At the end of an outstanding season for the
Reds, Antonio had scored 15 goals and assisted on 14 more occasions, earning
widespread plaudits for his exceptional play. The West Ham new boys has
carried on where he left off at the start of the 2015/16 campaign, scoring
four goals in five appearances in league and cup, and earning him a dream
move to the Barclays Premier League.

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Jarvis joins Norwich on loan
WHUFC.com

West Ham United midfielder Matt Jarvis has joined Norwich City on a
season-long loan. Jarvis, 29, has made 90 appearances and scored six goals
for the Club following his move from Wolves back in August 2012. The Club
wishes Matt the best of luck at Carrow Road this season.

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Antonio, Song, Moses and Jelavic join West Ham on deadline day
BBC.co.uk

West Ham have signed Nottingham Forest winger Michail Antonio and Hull
striker Nikica Jelavic and completed loan deals for Barcelona midfielder
Alex Song and Chelsea winger Victor Moses. Antonio, 25, has moved to the
Hammers for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £7m, while 30-year-old
Jelavic moves in a transfer worth about £3m. Song, 27, and Moses, 24, have
joined the club on season-long loan deals.
Antonio has signed a four-year deal with a further two-year option.

Fan's view: David Blackmore, editor of West Ham United magazine Blowing
Bubbles
"What a difference 24 hours can make! From frustration to jubilation. Very
pleased with the re-signing of Alex Song on loan. I think he will thrive
under Bilic and give our midfield some serious class. "I'm also very excited
about Victor Moses and Michail Antonio. They will both add to our pacey
counter-attack and hopefully they will score a few goals, too. "Jelavic
wouldn't have been my first choice if I was looking to buy a striker from
the Championship but we badly needed a striker and he has, at least, a
history of scoring goals in the Premier League."

Croatia international Jelavic has joined on an initial two-year contract
with an option for a further two years. Song returns to Upton Park after
making 31 appearances for the club in all competitions during a loan spell
in 2014-15. Moses, who had loan spells at Liverpool in 2013-14 and Stoke
last season, moves to West Ham on loan after signing a new four-year deal
with his parent club. The Hammers have allowed midfielder Matt Jarvis, 29,
to join Norwich City on a season-long loan.

Michail Antonio
Michail Antonio becomes the 12th player to join West Ham this summer
Londoner Antonio, who began his career at non-league Tooting & Mitcham
United, has scored four goals in five matches for Forest this season. "I
can't wait for the challenge of playing in the Premier League," he told West
Ham TV. "It was one of the things growing up - I wanted to test myself
against the best. "I've worked my way from non-league and finally got to the
Premier League to show what I can do."
Antonio said his main attributes were "pace, power and goals". "I came to a
couple of games here when I was younger, so I'm happy to be finally here,"
he added.

Song returns to the Hammers
Song, meanwhile, joined Barcelona in 2012 from Arsenal for about £15m with a
release clause of £63m (80m euros). Having played 206 times for the Gunners
between 2005 and 2012, he has made 39 appearances for Barca. "It was a very
easy choice for me to come back and I'm very happy to be here," he said. "I
feel at home and my family do too. They're set up very well here and my kids
are playing for West Ham academy." The Hammers have the option of extending
Song's deal for a further season.

Moses leaves Chelsea for third time
Former Crystal Palace and Wigan player Moses moved to Stamford Bridge in
August 2012, but has spent the past two seasons on loan.
"Delighted to sign a new deal at Chelsea and now looking forward to a good
season with West Ham," he tweeted. Victor Moses has made 44 appearances for
Chelsea since arriving in August 2012

Jelavic reunites with Hammers boss Bilic

Jelavic's arrival at the Boleyn Ground sees him reunited with his former
Croatia manager Slaven Bilic. "I've played for Slaven before and he is a
great manager and a great man. I am really happy and delighted to be working
with him and all his staff again," said Jelavic.
The ex-Everton striker scored 16 goals in 54 Premier League appearances
during a two-year spell at Goodison Park. After a £6.5m move to Hull in
January 2014, he scored a further 12 top-flight goals in 45 matches.

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Going out of Europe was a blessing in disguise, says Gold
KUMb.com
Filed: Tuesday, 1st September 2015
By: Staff Writer

West Ham United's co-owner David Gold believes that West Ham's early exit
from the Europa League was "a blessing in disguise."

Gold, speaking on Talksport tonight after the transfer window told fans to
forget about the competition on the day that West Ham signed no less than
four players.

"We've just got to put the disappointment of going out of the Europa League
behind us," he told hosts Adrian Durham and Darren Gough. "Who knows - you
could argue that it's a blessing in disguise.

"We've seen it in the past. We saw Everton last year, for example, perform
well below their ability where they finished in the league, compared to
where they should have. Arguably you could put that down to the run in the
Europa League.

"I'm old enough to remember when Ipswich got promoted and finished seventh
in the Premier League, got into Europe, had a decent run in Europe and got
relegated. Well that's no fun."

Despite the disappointment at West Ham's early Europa League exit, Gold
believes the club are now well set up for the coming season, following the
arrival of 13 new players since the end of the 2014/15 campaign.

"When I look back in the past, West Ham haven't been a massive buying club,"
he said. "I think that certainly in our time we've been here, we've never
had a window like this. We've achieved our aims.

"Slaven has put forward the players he likes and in each case we've gone out
there and got them for him.

"It has to be remembered we've got two big seasons coming up. These will be
memorable seasons that fans will remember for years and years to come. We've
got to give them a team that can ensure we are successful in both those
seasons."

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Emmanuel Adebayor unable to agree terms with Tottenham to buy out his
contract
Last Updated: 01/09/15 8:12pm
SSN

Emmanuel Adebayor wanted to join West Ham on transfer deadline day but was
unable to agree on terms with Tottenham to buy out the final year of his
contract, according to Sky sources. The 31-year-old striker, who was close
to a move to Aston Villa earlier in the window, met with Hammers manager
Slaven Bilic at Upton Park on Monday to discuss joining the club. It is
understood Tottenham were happy for the forward to leave and offered to pay
off a portion of the final year of his contract - which is worth £5m - but
Adebayor rejected their proposal. Adebayor's failure to reach an agreement
with Spurs scuppered any potential move to West Ham, who did manage to
bolster their striking options by landing Nikica Jelavic from Hull City on
transfer deadline day. The Togo international has not been issued with a
first-team squad number by Mauricio Pochettino as of yet this season but
Spurs' failure to bring in another striker may necessitate bringing Adebayor
back into the fold. Tottenham failed with four bids for West Brom forward
Saido Berahino and that has left them short of an out-and-out striker to
cover for England international Harry Kane.

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Tottenham transfers: West Ham target Emmanuel Adebayor facing months in
limbo after £5m pay-off demand
1 COMMENT 22:30, 1 SEPTEMBER 2015
BY DARREN LEWIS
Spurs offered to cancel final season of the striker's £100,000 a week
contract so he could move as a free agent — but he wanted it paid up in full
The Mirror

Emmanuel Adebayor is staying at Tottenham after refusing to back down on his
demand for a £5million pay-off ahead of a move to West Ham.
The Togo striker, 31, could now spend the season in limbo — he remains out
in the cold at White Hart Lane, to such an extent he doesn't even have a
squad number. The Hammers' decision to sign Chelsea winger Victor Moses on
loan meant Adebayor could only move to Upton Park on a permanent deal. Spurs
— desperate to get him out of the club — offered to cancel the final year of
his £100,000-a-week deal so he could depart as a free agent. But the former
Arsenal and Manchester City front-man Adebayor maintained he would only
leave if his contract was paid up in full - at a cost of £5m. While
Tottenham were prepared to pay him until he found a new club, they refused
to bow to this pay-off demand. Although he agreed to a compromise late on
deadline day, Adebayor is understood to have staged an even later u-turn,
infuriating Spurs and ensuring there was no chance of a move to the Hammers.
It all means that even if he does now eventually reach agreement with the
White Hart Lane club, he will not be able to play for anyone else until
January. West Ham had earlier completed the signings of Moses and fellow
winger Michail Antonio, who arrived from Championship Nottingham Forest on a
permanent deal.

Irons boss Slaven Bilic also snapped up striker Nikita Jelavic - who has
played for him at international level with Croatia - from Hull.
West Ham were relaxed about the Adebayor situation on Tuesday night. They
insist they are delighted with the overall business they have done to
strengthen both the first team and the squad during this summer's window.
They kicked off with the capture of £14m Dimitri Payet from Marseille and
followed up with midfielder Pedro Obiang of Sampdoria and defender Angelo
Ogbonna from Italian champions Juventus.
A second successive loan deal with Barcelona for midfielder Alex Song was
restructured to suit the Irons, as an ankle injury means he will not be
available to play until November. West Ham also renewed right-back Carl
Jenkinson's loan from Arsenal for another year. Playmaker Manuel Lanzini -
already a big hit with the fans — has also come in on a loan with a view to
a permanent deal.

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More West Ham players could be outbound soon
Posted by Sean Whetstone on September 1, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H

Although the official summer transfer window has now closed this evening, a
new Emergency loan window opens in just seven days time for Championship and
football league clubs. This window allows Premier League to loan out
players up for 93 days over two periods.

While Matt Jarvis has agreed to join Norwich City on loan, similar deals for
James Collins and Joey O'Brien were not arranged and both could find
themselves with limited first team appearances this season. The same could
be true for Morgan Amalfitano who has been frozen out of the first team by
Bilic.

A host of promising youngsters which appeared in the Europa League could
also find themselves at Championship or League 1 or 2 clubs within this
window to gain experience.

FIFA gave the emergency loan window a reprieve earlier this year. Fifa has
extended the system to take in the 2015-16 season, but wants to scrap it in
future to protect the "sporting integrity of competitions".

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Gold: "We got everyone we wanted"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 1, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H

David Gold has sent his congratulations to David Sulivan, Slaven Bilic and
all concerned on what he has described as "one of the most remarkable
transfer windows in our history"

And having tweeted his message he then spoke exclusively to ClaretandHugh
about the last 24 hours declaring: "It's certainly been an incredible 48
hours..

"It went very smoothly indeed and in the end we got everyone we wanted. That
is so unusual and why I describe it in my tweet as remarkable."

DG admitted that the club had needed strengthening and deepening adding:
"Very few team go to places like Liverpool with as many youngsters on the
bench as we had on Saturday.

"You have to have seasoned top players in the squad and we certainly have
them now, it's looking good."

And recalling his recent words about the top clubs looking over their
shoulders at West Ham he smiled: "I think that statement got taking very
much the wrong way by some.

"I didn't say we were about to break into their company, only that they
would be looking over their shoulders as we grew. I think we did some more
growing in this transfer window."

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