Advertisement

Soccer-West Ham sign Spanish midfielder Obiang

LONDON, June 10 (Reuters) - West Ham United have signed Spanish midfielder Pedro Obiang from Sampdoria on a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee, the Premier League club announced on Wednesday. Obiang, 23, is West Ham's first signing under new manager Slaven Bilic, who joined the club on Tuesday, and is relishing the chance to play for the Croatian coach. "I think Bilic is a manager that can do very well here. I know that he was a West Ham player and he did very well with the Croatian national team," said the box-to-box midfielder. "He is a manager that likes to play good football and I really like that so I am sure that we will get along very well." Obiang, who has played for Spain's under-21 side, scored three goals in 34 Serie A appearances for Sampdoria last season as they finished seventh to qualify for the Europa League. He grew up in Madrid and joined Atletico but decided to leave when he was 16 for Sampdoria on a five-year contract. Obiang made his debut against Juventus in 2010 and has played 128 league games and featured in the Europa League which West Ham have qualified for via the Fair Play League. Obiang is West Ham's second close-season signing following the arrival of 28-year-old goalkeeper Darren Randolph, who has two Ireland caps, from Birmingham City on a free transfer. (Writing by Ken Ferris; Editing by Toby Davis)