Summer 2013 silly season

Sky are reporting that AC Milano's Massimo Ambrosini is in London for talks with West Ham about a move to Upton Park this summer

Is he the custard and rice pudding bloke?

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has confirmed the club are on the verge of signing Romanian defender Razvan Rat.

Rat is available on a free transfer after seeing out his contract at Shakhtar Donetsk and Allardyce has targeted the 31-year-old to help fill the club's problematic left-back spot.

Talks are thought to be at an advanced stage and Allardyce is hopeful of making Rat his first signing of the summer.

"I think at the moment it is talking terms and conditions and if we get through that then hopefully it's a chance of a medical and then see where we go from there," Allardyce told Sky Sports News.

Allardyce believes Rat will prove a valuable addition to his squad next season.

"He has played Champions League this year, if everything goes to plan we get a player that has played at the highest level for his country and for Shaktar Donetsk at the moment," added Allardyce.

"His experience and talents from abroad bringing them into the Premier League would be a great asset for us if we can sort it out."

Cant say i know anything about Rat, anyone seen anything of him?

Campo wrote:Cant say i know anything about Rat, anyone seen anything of him?

He's not Roland Rat's Romanian cousin, is he? I know nothing about him, apart from with a name like that he would get some serious barracking from opposing support. Oh, and that being Romanian UKIP would want to send him home....

*puts on Harry Rednapp voice*


"That Leyton Bains is a great player but I cant talk about him as he playes for Managerless Everton, but of course given the chance I'd love it if he came here"

West Ham United are delighted to announce the signing of Romania captain Razvan Rat on a free transfer.
The experienced left-back, who has 88 caps to his name, will join the Hammers on a one-year deal, with the Club having an option to extend to two or three years, on 1 July following the expiry of his contract with Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk.
Rat, 31, has spent the past decade with Shakhtar, winning seven Ukrainian Premier League titles, four Ukrainian Cups and lifting the UEFA Cup in 2009. He has made 248 appearances for the club, including 57 in the UEFA Champions League.
The Piatra-Olt-born defender played eight times in the UEFA Champions League in 2012/13, helping Shakhtar to defeat Chelsea on their way to the last-16. Domestically, he helped the club to win the Ukrainian Premier League title for the fourth season in succession and reach the Ukrainian Cup final in his last appearance.
Hammers manager Sam Allardyce is delighted to have secured his signature. He said: "I'm hugely happy that we've got a player of his experience and his character.
"He's been playing Champions League football this year and at the highest level for many years. Shakhtar had offered him a very good contract, but his ambition was to come and try his abilities and skills in England.
"When you hear somebody speak so positively about that, then you know they've got the mental character that's needed to do well in this division.
"We certainly know he's got the ability and he's at an age where he's still capable of producing at 31.
"He speaks perfect English, which he taught himself, and that shows the discipline and the character of the man. Discipline, character and ability are the three big things in the Premier League, and with a little bit of adjusting, we'll see him early on in the season giving hopefully his best performances for West Ham."
The 5'9 full-back started his career with hometown club Rapid Piatra-Olt before playing schoolboy and youth-team football for Universitatea Craiova, Constructorul Craiova, Sporting Pitesti and Cetatea Targu Neamt.
In 1998, the 17-year-old Rat joined Rapid Bucharest, quickly establishing himself at the Romanian Premier League club under manager Mircea Lucescu and making his European debut in a UEFA Cup qualifying round defeat at Armenian club Mika in August 2000.
After a six-month loan spell with smaller Romanian club FCM Bacau during the 2000/01 season, Rat returned to Bucharest, winning the Romanian Cup in 2002 and the Romanian Premier League title the following year.
Shakhtar moved to sign the defender in summer 2003 and he has enjoyed huge success since moving to Ukraine, lifting a total of 15 trophies - the vast majority of them under the guidance of former mentor and compatriot Lucescu, who took charge at the club in 2004.
At international level, Rat was capped at U21 level before making his senior debut against France in Paris in February 2002. Since then, he has been a virtual ever-present for Romania, earning 88 caps to date. His solitary international goal came in a 5-1 win over Germany in April 2004.
In 2008, he started all three group-stage matches at the UEFA European Championship finals in Switzerland before being appointed national-team captain in September 2011.
Rat becomes the third Romanian to represent West Ham after 1994 FIFA World Cup stars Florin Raducioiu and Ilie Dumitrescu.

Sky reporting West Ham have done a deal with Liverpool for Andy Carrol

by Hugh Southon and Robbie Pringle 21st May 2013 6:30pm BST
Exclusive
West Ham United were last night holding their breath that striker Andy Carroll would agree to join them after agreeing a £15 million fee with Liverpool.
The Hammers had made the big striker their "must have" summer target and a source told Sports Direct News exclusively: "We have always been ready to go all the way on this one.
"We have agreed a fee of around £15 million with Liverpool football club but now it's a case of making sure Andy wants to join us.
"We know he has been very happy here, he has settled well and is loved by everybody around the place but he has a big decision to make and we will be waiting to hear from his agent.
"We have had many talks with his advisor; we can afford his wages and have now gone the last mile on the transfer fee so he'll know how important and critical he is to us."
All the signs are that the deal is on with manager Sam Allardyce making a highly unusual statement of intent in his direction following the match against Reading at the weekend.
Big Sam showed no reluctance at all in explaining how important a signing it would be which is not typical managerial behaviour.
He has insisted for weeks how important Carroll is to the team and there have even been suggestions he may not have gone ahead with a new year-long deal if he hadn't believed he could get the player.
But there was no word from Carroll or his agent as to what their next move would be although the Hammers will be hoping talks on personal terms can now go ahead

Would love this to be true but......c'mon-this is West Ham! Whenever is life as simple as this???

Rat at 5'9" and along with Joe Cole, the last signing of Sam's-the average height of the squad is down to 6'10 now!!!

Phase 2 of Sam's Barcelona copy is almost complete. Expect to see Warwick Davis up front soon.

(rumour) Lukaku on loan

Oh god, yes please

JulianDicksLeftKnee wrote:Rat at 5'9" and along with Joe Cole, the last signing of Sam's-the average height of the squad is down to 6'10 now!!!

Phase 2 of Sam's Barcelona copy is almost complete. Expect to see Warwick Davis up front soon.

Oooo, careful, JDLK ...... you know all the journos read these forums to get their next rumour! Now just wait...

Campo wrote:(rumour) Lukaku on loan

Now that I like! would well piss off a mate at work whose a baggie!

would love to take lakaku , him jarvis and carroll would take some handling with nolan backing them up

it appears that lakaku is a back up plan if Carroll does not sign, it wont be both of them

Campo wrote:it appears that lakaku is a back up plan if Carroll does not sign, it wont be both of them

So who's the back-up plan when Carroll gets injured ? We clearly need one, because on current form we are only likely to get half a season out of him.

Would love to see Lukaku at West Ham.
One can only hope.

Holtby

WEST Ham United chairman David Gold has issued a hands-off warning to Newcastle United over defender James Tomkins.

Newcastle were linked again over the weekend with the England Under-21 international, who Alan Pardew has a long-standing interest in.

But Gold has said Tomkins – who signed a new contract at Upton Park in January – isn’t for sale this summer.

Gold told SportsDirect News: “We are not selling James – he’s on a long contract and is still only a young man.

“He’s an absolutely top prospect and were he to be available it would not be easy to buy him as we have a very high valuation on him.

“This is no longer a selling club. We are moving forward into a big future and we will therefore be keeping our biggest players – James is one of them.”

My God, that man has a way with words. So much so that I have fallen a bit in love with him....