West Ham have completed the signing of Spanish midfielder Pablo Fornals from Villarreal for an estimated fee of £25m.
The 23-year-old was identified as a transfer target by Mario Husillos, the West Ham director of football, and consequently becomes the Hammers’ third signing of the summer following the free transfers of experienced goalkeepers David Martin from Millwall and Roberto from Espanyol.
Fornals, who has been capped twice by Spain, will bolster Manuel Pellegrini’s squad in a bid to help the club achieve a top seven finish next season.
You can watch highlights of Pablo Fornals in action here
The midfielder was regarded as one of La Liga’s brightest youngsters and will look to make an instant impact in his first season in English football.
West Ham cooled their interest in Barcelona’s midfielder Andre Gomes after discovering he wanted to return to Everton, so instead turned their attention to Fornals and got the deal done within a week of negotiations.
This signing is an excellent coup for the Hammers and credit must go to Husillos for conducting this deal behind the scenes and efficiently.
Pellegrini has made it clear that he wants to get his business done early in this transfer window in an attempt to get the squad fully prepared for pre-season as the club looks to improve on finishing 10th in last year’s Premier League campaign.
By Frankie Levin (@FrankWHUFC)