West Bromwich Albion Sign Nicky Shorey
English Premier League (EPL) club West Bromwich Albion have completed the signing of Nickey Shorey from Aston Villa for an undisclosed fee. The left-back has arrived at the Hawthorns having sealed a two-year contract with the option of a third year.
Shorey’s arrival means that West Brom now have three players competing to play on the left of defence, as he will face a challenge for the starting berth from Slovakia international Marek Cech and 20-year-old Joe Mattock, who played 26 times in total for the first team last season.
The defender is manager Roberto Di Matteo’s fifth signing this summer, following Pablo Ibanez, Steven Reid, Boaz Myhill and Gabriel Tamas. The club is surely readying themselves for the EPL, after gaining promotion from the Football League Championship last season.
'Delighted' to secure player
Di Matteo, who joined West Brom in June last year, told his club’s official website of his delight at securing Shorey’s services. He said: "I'm delighted to welcome Nicky to the club. He's an experienced, solid, reliable left-back who likes to get forward and get involved. I also like the fact he's English and knows what the Premier League is all about. I've very much signed Nicky to compete for the left-back position and I have some good options down that flank as Marek can also play further forward.”
Shorey joined Aston Villa two years ago after impressing during a seven-year spell at Reading where he helped the team secure promotion to the EPL by winning the Championship in the 2005-06 season. He continued his good form at the Berkshire club the following season and even found himself winning two international caps after playing with the England national team.
However, Shorey did not feature regularly for Aston Villa last season and found himself loaned out to Nottingham Forest and Fulham. He made 37 appearances for the Birmingham club in his two years there before making the move to West Brom.
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