There were rumours of interest from top clubs far and wide but it looks as if West Ham could be about to execute a real transfer coup by bringing Southampton defender Jose Fonte to the club.
British media outlet, Sky Sports, reports:
West Ham are close to agreeing a deal to sign defender Jose Fonte from Southampton, according to Sky sources.
The 33-year-old centre back has been absolutely superb in his time in the Premier League.
He signed for Southampton in 2010 for peanuts (around £1.2m) and has gone on to become one of the most consistent defenders in the league.
He’s played 286 times for Southampton and scored a creditable 15 goals. At 33 he looks to be in his best form ever. But he only came into international football in 2014 and has since become integral to the Portugal team with 20 caps and that superb victory at EURO 2016 against all the odds and without Ronaldo for much of the final with France.
West Ham will obviously improve the salary of the player and this must have been a major consideration when making his decision. He will now get a final big pay day and undertake an exciting new project at a club which looks on the up once more after a shaky start to life in their new stadium.
West Ham fans: will Fonte go straight into the starting line up or will he be used sparingly to begin with?