Premier League News: Ben Haim completes West Ham move
London Club West Ham United have attained the services of Israeli defender Tal Ben Haim from the relegated Portsmouth. The player has signed a 6 months loan deal with the Hammers that will see him stay with West Ham till January. This is the 4th Premier League club for the defender; he started his career in England with Bolton and later moved to Chelsea. After lack of first team football he was signed by Portsmouth, and after relegation he decided to make another move within the Premier League.
The other 3 signings for Hammers during this transfer window have been German midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger who was formerly an Aston Villa player, Mexican winger Pablo Barrera and French forward Frederic Piquionne.
After the signing of the Israeli defender, West Ham have said that the summer shopping is not over just yet. The club has said that they will be signing a young player who made his name in the recently concluded World Cup. However, the club refused to name the player yet.
Ben Haim has been reunited with Avram Grant for the 4th time; he played under him at Chelsea, later at Portsmouth and also played under Grant’s management in the national team for Israel. Ben Haim has played 50 matches for his country.
West Ham United officially announced the transfer deal. An official statement from the club said that “ West Ham are pleased to officially announce that Israel’s Ben Haim has signed with the club for a 6 month loan deal, and the club will also sign a young international player very soon”.
Meanwhile in another London club, Arsenal, Thomas Vermaelen has said that he is up for the challenge and ready to fight it out for his club in the upcoming season.
Arsenal have not won the Premier League since their famous invincible season in 2004, the last trophy that the club won was back in 2005; the FA cup.
Vermaelen was an instant hit at Arsenal after signing from Dutch club Ajax last year. He said he has loved his short time at Arsenal and feels that he will be here for a long time. The young defender said that he believes in his manager and his team, and is confident that with hard work and determination Arsenal can finally end the trophy drought.
Arsene Wenger has also said that he expects his young defender to step up, after the exit of 3 experienced defenders from Emirates this summer. The French duo of Mikael Silvestre and William Gallas followed by English defender Sol Campbell have all ended their ties with the club following a breakdown in talks for a new contract.
Vermaelen said that at a club like Arsenal there is no let up, and the manager always expects the players to get better with time. He added that a manager like Wenger instils immense confidence in young players, and that is the reason the whole team believes in him.
The Belgian international said that news of Fabregas not going has helped the team morale to a great degree. He said that Cesc, even though only 24, is a player that the team looks up to and follows as a leader. Vermaelen said that for a club like Arsenal to prosper Wenger needs to hold on to the players he has invested years on. He added that if players continue to leave when they are ready to take the next step the club will always be in the process of rebuilding.
Thomas Vermaelen said that the team has big plans for the new season, and the whole team is up and ready to challenge Chelsea and Manchester United for the title.
Tags: