04/07/2007 15:45
West Ham United can confirm that we have agreed a fee of £8.5million with
Aston Villa for the transfer of Nigel Reo-Coker, subject to the player
agreeing personal terms and passing a medical.
The 23-year-old midfielder has been given permission to travel to Villa Park
to begin talks and is expected to complete a move in the next 24 hours.
Nigel joined West Ham United from MK Dons in January 2004 and has made 142
league and cup appearances for the Club, scoring 11 goals along the way.
Captain of the side that won promotion to the Premier League in 2005, he
also led the team out for the FA Cup final last year, coming within minutes
of lifting the trophy at the tender age of 21.
Also captain of the England Under-21 side for more than two years, Nigel
made his final appearance for the young Lions in their recent European
Championship semi-final defeat against Holland.
West Ham United would like to thank Nigel for his service during the past
three and a half years, and wish him every success in his future career.
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Wright signs on free transfer - WHUFC Official Site
04/07/2007 21:35
West Ham United is delighted to confirm the signing of England international
goalkeeper Richard Wright on a free transfer.
The 29-year-old former Ipswich Town, Arsenal and Everton stopper was a free
agent after leaving Goodison Park at the end of last season, and becomes
Alan Curbishley's third summer arrival.
Born in Ipswich in November 1977, Richard joined his hometown club as a
schoolboy and progressed to make his first team debut in the old First
Division at the age of just 18, in a 1-0 defeat at Manchester City in August
1996.
After establishing himself as a regular in the team almost immediately, the
young keeper went on to suffer defeat in three successive play-off
semi-finals before making it fourth time lucky in May 2000 - saving a
penalty as Ipswich beat Barnsley at Wembley to reach the Premier League.
Just five days after his promotion triumph, Richard made his full
international debut for England in a 2-1 friendly win over Malta - saving
another penalty to further enhance his growing reputation as one of the
country's most promising young goalkeepers and earn him a place in the Euro
2000 finals squad.
After one more season at Portman Road - in which he helped lead the
newly-promoted Tractor Boys to a top five finish and UEFA Cup
qualification - Richard earned a £6million move to Arsenal in the summer of
2001 and went on to make 22 league and cup appearances in the 2001-02
season, including four in the Champions League, winning a Premiership
winners' medal.
However, after just a solitary season in north London, the 6ft 2ins stopper
was on the move again, this time in a £3.5million switch to Everton. Sadly,
knee and ankle injuries blighted much of his career on Merseyside, and the
arrival of Tim Howard on loan from Manchester United last season restricted
him to just two appearances in his final campaign at Goodison.
Having arrived at Upton Park to provide competition for current number one
Robert Green, Richard will be aiming to get his Premier League career back
on track under Alan Curbishley.
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Curbs happy to have made the Wright move - WHUFC Official Site
05/07/2007 10:27
Alan Curbishley is backing Richard Wright to prove his quality at Upton Park
after enduring a difficult last couple of years at Everton.
The twice-capped England international goalkeeper signed on a free transfer
on Wednesday night after leaving Goodison Park at the end of the season, and
the Hammers boss couldn't hide his pleasure at snapping up the former
Ipswich and Arsenal stopper.
"I'm delighted that Richard has signed," he says. "He is exactly the sort of
player I like - dedicated, hungry and also a little a bit angry after what
has happened to him in the last couple of years.
"I've got no doubts about his ability, and he is the perfect player to come
in and put pressure on the other goalkeepers at the Club.
"He has great experience but, at 29, is still young in goalkeeping terms and
hopefully has his best years in front of him.
"I'm sure he will enjoy his time here and we welcome the competition that he
will provide."
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Man Utd close in on striker Tevez - BBC Sport
West Ham striker Carlos Tevez is set to join Manchester United, according to
BBC Five Live Sport.
BBC sports editor Mihir Bose understands talks are under way and Tevez may
move on loan or permanently.
Tevez, 23, is currently on international duty with Argentina in the Copa
America in Venezuela.
West Ham have said they want to keep him after he helped them survive in the
Premier League last season but doubts have remained over his Hammers future.
"I understand talks have been going on for several weeks now," added Bose.
"Manchester United are certainly very keen on Carlos Tevez but they are very
complicated talks because of the nature of the loan arrangement he has at
West Ham.
"What is going on is whether he goes on a permanent move, which would
involve a very high fee. Certainly, Tevez's people would want in the region
of what Zinedine Zidane went for when he moved to Real Madrid - about £40m.
"Or he could go on the same arrangement his colleague Javier Mascherano went
to Liverpool under when he left West Ham. That was a two-year deal and a
sort of extended loan for a much lower fee."
There was much controversy over the signing of Tevez and that of fellow
Argentine Javier Mascherano by the Upton Park club last summer.
West Ham were fined £5.5m for irregularities that centred on who owned the
players' contracts but Sheffield United, who were relegated from the
Premiership in the 2006-2007 campaign, believe the London club should have
been docked points.
An arbitration panel this week upheld a decision not to deduct points from
the Hammers but the Blades are investigating whether they can appeal to the
civil courts.
All through the saga, Tevez has focused solely on his game.
At the end of last season he inspired the Hammers to a run of form that
lifted the club out of the bottom three and clinched their top-flight
status.
When Tevez first arrived at Upton Park he found games hard to come by under
the then West Ham boss Alan Pardew but he was given a more prominent role
after Alan Curbishley took the helm in December 2006.
Last season Tevez scored seven goals in his final 10 Premier League games,
including the winner at Manchester United that guaranteed West Ham's
survival.
He was expected to delay a decision over his future until after the Copa
America finishes on 14 July but United appear to be keen to tie up a deal
for the player.
Arsenal and Liverpool were also linked with Tevez, who turned down a move to
Italian side Inter Milan after failing to meet a deadline they set for him
to make a decision about whether to join them.
If Tevez did sign for United he would join the Old Trafford outfit's other
summer recruits in England midfielder Owen Hargreaves, Portugal winger Nani,
Brazilian midfielder Anderson and keeper Tomasz Kuszczak.
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Blades ponder civil court appeal - BBC Sport
Tevez is at the centre of the Sheffield United-West Ham saga
Sheffield United are investigating whether they can appeal to the civil
courts against an arbitration panel's verdict over the Carlos Tevez affair.
But the club has denied an earlier claim that they will seek a High Court
judgement on the case.
This followed the panel's decision to uphold the original verdict not to
dock West Ham points over the signings of Tevez and Javier Mascherano.
The Hammers were fined £5.5m for their handling of the duo's deals.
West Ham were found guilty on 27 April of acting improperly and withholding
vital documentation over the duo's ownership.
When Tevez and Mascherano were registered as players, West Ham failed to
disclose that they had entered into an agreement with third-party companies.
Sheffield United had launched their first appeal after they went down on the
last day of the season and West Ham stayed up.
The three-man arbitration panel, headed by retired High Court judge Sir
Philip Otton, did not have the power to change West Ham's punishment but
could have ordered a new independent commission to judge the case.
Earlier on Wednesday, a Premier League spokesman said in a statement: "The
Premier League has just been advised by our legal team that Sheffield United
have launched an appeal in the High Court."
But the Blades have said this is incorrect.
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Wright move - KUMB
Filed: Wednesday, 4th July 2007
By: Matthew O'Greel
West Ham have signed their third player of the summer - former Ipswich and
Everton goalkeeper agent Richard Wright.
29-year-old Wright joins the Hammers on a free after being released by
Everton at the end of last season. He replaces the outgoing Roy Carroll as
number two to Robert Green.
Wright - whose career has been constantly interrupted by a series of
injuries - made his name at Ipswich before making a £6m move to Arsenal in
July 2001.
However he failed to make much of an impression during his spell at Highbury
and was allowed to join Everton a season later for half the fee paid by
Arsenal.
Having lost his first team spot at Goodison Park to Tim Howard the
once-capped England international decided his days on Merseyside were over,
and was released at the end of last season.
Wright's arrival caps a busy day in the transfer market for the Hammers;
whilst he was the only arrival today Nigel Reo-Coker (Aston Villa, £8.5m -
confirmation due tomorrow), Teddy Sheringham (Colchester United, free) and
Tyrone Mears (Derby, £1m)all departed.
West Ham United - signings so far
Scott Parker - £7m (Newcastle)
Julien Faubert - £6.1m (Bordeaux)
Richard Wright - free transfer
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Tevez cool over £20m United link - Team Talk
Carlos Tevez has played down reports suggesting he is close to joining
Manchester United in a reported £20million move.
The West Ham forward, who is currently in Venezuela with Argentina for the
Copa America campaign, has been linked to several clubs in England and
abroad but is keen to remain in the Premier League.
"As far as I am aware, I have not received any official offers," Tevez told
Argentina national newspaper Clarin.
"Once an offer arrives then we will see. But the fact that Real Madrid,
Internazionale and Manchester United are interested in me makes me proud."
Tevez was instrumental in keeping the Hammers in the Premier League last
season and admits he would not be disappointed if he was to remain at Upton
Park for a second straight campaign.
"If I have to stay at West Ham, it would be fine," he said. "I am happy
there and people love me very much."
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Hammers hit by new twist in Tevez saga - The Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE By MATT LAWTON
Last updated at 00:38am on 5th July 2007
Carlos Tevez's adviser is ready to hand "potentially explosive" documents to
the High Court that could drag West Ham back into the row with Sheffield
United and increase the pressure on senior Premier League officials.
On a day when Sheffield United launched a High Court appeal against an
arbitration panel's decision to dismiss their claim against the Premier
League, Blades chairman Kevin McCabe revealed the existence of documents
that were never seen by the panel or the independent disciplinary commission
which first reviewed the case in April.
A source close to Kia Joorabchian, the businessman who has a major stake in
Tevez and has been at the centre of the controversy over third party
ownership, described the documents as evidence that could "hit the Premier
League like a mallet and take West Ham down", and added: "Kia is quite
prepared to hand them over."
It is understood the documents concern the period that followed the original
hearing, when Tevez was allowed to play the final three games of the season
for West Ham on the understanding that the player's third-party agreement
had been terminated.
Sportsmail understands the documents will provide proof that the agreement
remained in existence throughout, which was something even the arbitration
panel suspected.
While the Premier League received confirmation to the contrary directly from
West Ham and have no power to regulate third parties, a High Court judge
could take a dim view of the agreement that was rapidly reached, allowing
Tevez to play a huge part in the outcome of the season.
Last night McCabe said: "We believe there are further documents that have
not yet been disclosed that could have a bearing on this case.
"We need to find out, initially, if a judge will hear our case. If we are
informed we can appeal in a civil court, we will be able to request those
documents.
"We want some kind of compensation for what has happened. At this stage I
have no idea if that would be monetary compensation or reinstatement to the
Premier League.
"But, deep down, we all know that the people who run the game are
responsible for this shambles."
It is now up to the High Court to decide if Sheffield United's case should
be heard.
"We have applied to find out if we can lodge an appeal through the civil
courts," added a Bramall Lane source. "This involves speaking to a judge and
is a technical process."
In response to the steps that have been taken, a Premier League spokesman
said: "We have just been advised by our legal team that Sheffield United
have launched an appeal in the High Court under Section 69(2)(b) of the
Arbitration Act 1996 against the award of our arbitration panel yesterday
under Section S of our Rules.
"Our legal team inform us that this is a very narrow window of appeal where
Sheffield United are claiming that the arbitration panel, under Sir Philip
Otton, made an error in law by failing to send back the original decision to
the independent disciplinary commission for reconsideration.
"It is a matter of record that the Premier League has acted at all times in
accordance with our rule book and procedures, as such we expect this matter
to be expedited as quickly as possible and, again, we will not be altering
any plans for next season."
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This Week Could Be Make Or Break For West Ham And Tevez - WestHamFans.org
Submitted by Neville Nixon on 5 July, 2007 - 09:35.
Contrary to some press reports, Manchester United are not about to sign
Carlos Tevez from West Ham, they are however considering a loan deal that
would cost them £9 Million for one year, the twist in the tail is that
Hammers have the first option over any deal, hence Eggert Magnusson's
bullish approach. The negative is that Hammers will become unwilling
partners to a bidding war that could see the club paying a high price should
Fergie decide to 'go large'.. There has been a lot of paper talk suggesting
that fellow Argentine International Gabriel Heinze could be the lure that
takes Carlitos to Old Trafford, but Heinze is on the transfer list and is
unlikely to be at the club for the start of the season.. The truth is that a
player of Carlos Tevez's quality will inevitably attract offers of interest
from the top clubs, but looking and buying are two different things, it
remains to be seen if 'the Apache' starts for Hammers next season, but
Eggert Magnusson will obviously push the boat out to retain the fans
favourite.. The prospect of Craig Bellamy arriving at the Boleyn still looms
large, the jury is out as to whether he would be a good signing or not, if
he did sign he would be under no illusions about the extent of the
disciplined regime that Alan Curbishley has installed, Curbs may be dull but
he won't put up with any crap, probably the only problem Curbs would have
with Bellamy is that he hasn't been involved with Charlton at any stage of
his career! - Ed (I know I've used the Charlton joke before)
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Ashton targets comeback in Hammers' friendly - The Daily Mail
Last updated at 13:47pm on 5th July 2007
Record buy Dean Ashton is just nine days away from making a West Ham
comeback.
The striker is scheduled to play in their opening pre-season friendly at
Dagenham & Redbridge on July 14, reports The Sun.
Ashton, 23, has been sidelined since last August after breaking his left
ankle while on England duty.
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