The Hammers captain Lucas Neill will miss the 1st month of the season with a knee injury.
The Australia defender is reported to have suffered medial ligament damage in a tackle during training with the Premier League club Monday.
Neill, who left the club's training facility wearing a knee brace, is the 3rd Hammers player to be ruled out of the opening weeks after Scott Parker and Julien Faubert also suffered injuries recently.
Former Blackburn player Neill was cursed by injury since arriving at Upton Park in January. He was sidelined for over a month after damaging an ankle in only his 2nd game for the club.
23 07 2007
Arsenal winger Freddie Ljungberg has completed his transfer to fellow London club The Hammers.
The 30 year old Swede, the Gunners' longest-serving player since joining in 1998, follows player French forward Thierry Henry, who moved to FC Barcelona, in leaving the Emirates Stadium in the summer.
Ljungberg played 325 times for Arsenal, scoring 72 goals, however lost his grip on a starting spot last season. No transfer fee or length of contract was immediately given.
He now joins Julien Faubert, Scott Parker, Craig Bellamy and Richard Wright in moving to Upton Park since the Hammers' dramatic last day survival last season.
23 07 2007
The Hammers are on the verge of signing Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg to soften the blow of Julien Faubert's 6 month injury lay-off.
Talks between Arsenal and The Hammers over a £3 million switch are at an advanced stage as stated by the Daily Mail.
Ljungberg, 30, is ready to drop his aversion to playing for another Premier League club after the Hammers' tabled a £60,000-a week deal – £30,000 more than offered by Italian side Fiorentina.
Boss Alan Curbishley is retaining an interest in Newcastle's Kieron Dyer in case he fails to land the Swede.
Meanwhile, defender Anton Ferdinand gave Curbishley a boost after Saturday's 2-0 defeat by Lazio in Austria, insisting he will fight for his place.
'I would not be at the club now if I did not want to to stay,' he said.
20 07 2007
New The Hammers signing Julien Faubert was ruled out for 6 months with a ruptured Achilles tendon.
Faubert was injured during West Ham's 1-0 friendly defeat against Czech side Sigma Olomouc in Austria on 17 July and returns to France for surgery.
The 23 year old France midfielder joined the Hammers from Bordeaux for £6.1 million on 1 July.
The Hammers manager Alan Curbishley informed his club's website, "It is a devastating blow for everybody, especially Julien."
Curbishley's frustration at seeing one of his key summer transfers ruled out until the New Year was evident.
"Julien had fitted in so well and was showing all the attributes needed to be a success in the Premier League," he explained.
"You would see in the short bit of football he has played with us that he was going to be a big hit with the supporters, so to lose him after an hour of football and only 2 weeks at the Club is a big disappointment."
George Cooper, head physio at Upton Park, added, "The injury was completely out of the blue. Julien has no history of any Achilles problems, and this kind of rupture is usually pre disposed by past steroid injections in the area, something he has never had, so it is a major shock. On the plus side, we have managed to get him to a top surgeon in Strasbourg, who has successfully operated on the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Lilian Thuram in the past, so he is in very good hands. 2 to 3 days is the key time for this injury and everything will be done and in place for Julien within that period."
18 07 2007
The Hammers new-boy Julien Faubert maybe a doubt for the start of the new season after suffering an ankle injury.
The 23 year old France midfield man was carried off in the 1-0 friendly defeat in Austria against Czechs Sigma Olomuc.
Faubert, a £6.1 million signing from Bordeaux, left the ground with his leg in a brace and will undergo test to determine the extent of his problem Wednesday.
The Hammers fear Faubert would face a long injury lay off in a major blow for manager Alan Curbishley.
05 07 2007
The Hammers confirm the signing of goalie Richard Wright on a free transfer.
The 29 year old has moved to Upton Park after leaving Everton at the end of last season and becomes the Hammers' 3rd summer signing.
With Roy Carroll reportedly on his way out of West Ham, Wright was signed to provide competition for current 1st-choice keeper Robert Green.
Wright was a member of England's team at Euro 2000 and has won 2 international caps.
He was capped whilst still at Ipswich and, after helping the Tractor Boys qualify for the UEFA Cup in 2001, earned a £6 million transfer to Arsenal.
Wright earned a Premier League winner's medal during his one season at Highbury before moving on to Everton.
After a series of injuries, Wright was squeezed out of the picture at Goodison Park last season following the arrival of Tim Howard from Man Utd.
A club statement said, "Richard will be aiming to get his Premier League career back on track under Alan Curbishley."
The Hammers have already signed England midfielder Scott Parker from Newcastle for £7 million and France international Julien Faubert in a £6.1 million deal from Bordeaux.
04 07 2007
Julien Faubert rubbed salt into Ibrox wounds yesterday as he said that as soon as the Premier League came calling he was no longer interested in moving to Rangers.
As the France international completed his £6.1 million switch from Bordeaux to West Ham, he said the lure of Premier League football was far more attractive than the prospect of the SPL.
"Between Glasgow and West Ham, there were not too lots of questions," mentioned Faubert.
"The Hammers are a Premier League club. That was a dream. I love this league. It suits my game."
As Bordeaux haggled with Rangers last week in the wake of the Ibrox club's £4.5 million offer, the 23 year old refused to attend pre season training in an apparent attempt to secure a transfer to Scotland.
Faubert says that his actions were justified, saying, "Sometimes you must take extreme measures. I used that to show my unhappiness. It was not a lack of respect towards the club. I will never disassociate myself from Bordeaux, because they are a club who were enormously useful to me in my career, who made me progress and allowed me to become an international. They remain a club very dear to me, like Cannes, where I started."
It is understood the young Frenchman picked up a £500,000 signing-on fee from The Hammers as the cash-rich Premier League flexed its financial muscle once again.
04 07 2007
Villarreal have agreed a deal to sign French international Rio Mavuba from Bordeaux.
The highly rated midfielder was linked with both Arsenal and Man Utd over the past 6 months, however will now continue his career in La Liga after agreeing a 5 year deal with The Yellow Submarine.
Villarreal will pay in the region of €8 million (£5.4 million) for Mavuba, leaving Bordeaux contemplating the exit of another key player after West Ham's swoop for Julien Faubert.
"Bordeaux, Villarreal and Rio Mavuba have come to an agreement for the transfer of the player to the yellows on a 5 year deal," Villarreal mentioned on their website.
Mavuba, who joins compatriots Robert Pires and Pascal Cygan at El Madrigal, added, "I do not speak Spanish very well, I can only mention that I am very happy."
Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc was linked with a move for Troyes' Blaise Matuidi as a probable like for like replacement for Mavuba.
02 07 2007
The Hammers sign France midfielder Julien Faubert from Bordeaux for £6.1 million.
The 23 year old, who scored on his only international appearance for France in 2006, signed a 5 year contract with the Upton Park side.
"I am delighted to welcome Julien and feel sure that he will become a very successful signing for the club," owner Eggert Magnusson informed the club website.
"He's one of the most highly rated young players in Europe and lots of clubs were attempting to sign him."
He added, "I were very impressed by his wish and ambition and I think he will be very popular among our supporters."
Faubert was with Bordeaux since 2004 however after the French club discarded a reported £4 million offer from Rangers he refused to train with his team-mates.
Earlier, his agent Philippe Sol said the Hammers had offered "substantially more" than the Ibrox club and informed the Sunday Herald, "He was given an ultimatum by Bordeaux, The Hammers or nowhere. They were no longer interested in talking with Rangers and after everything that went on with Julien last week there really was not a way back for him at Bordeaux. He would like to go to Rangers and had given them his word. Everything he did last week was about moving to Rangers and he was not looking to line up a move anywhere else. However, there is nothing he would do about the transfer fee and you can understand why Bordeaux would like to accept the offer from West Ham."
30 06 2007
Rangers have supposedly agreed a £2.5 million fee with Wigan for midfielder Lee McCulloch.
Gers manager Walter Smith is a big fan of the 29 year-old Scotland international and has agreed to splash out £2.5 million for his services, more than 3 times the bid of £750,000 he lodged in January, as stated by the Manchester Evening News.
The former Motherwell man moved south in 2001 for a then-club record fee of £700,000.
Although he mainly played up front at Fir Park, McCulloch established himself as a midfielder for the Lancashire club and was a key player in their rise to the top flight from the 3rd tier of English football.
Latics manager Chris Hutchings is loathe to lose McCulloch, however now realises the player has his heart set on playing for the team he supported as a youngster.
McCulloch maybe joined at Ibrox by Julien Faubert, Steven Naismith and Carlos Cuellar as Smith attempts to build a team capable of winning the SPL title.
