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West Ham sign Italy defender Ogbonna

Juventus player Angelo Ogbonna (L) waves to Juventus supporters during a training session in Chatillon, in Valle d'Aosta, July 12, 2013. REUTERS/Giorgio Perrottino (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) - West Ham United bolstered their defensive ranks with the signing of Italy international Angelo Ogbonna from Serie A champions Juventus on Friday, the Premier League club announced. The 27-year-old penned a four-year contract at the Boleyn Ground for a fee reported to be in the region of 11 million euros (7.91 million pounds). During two seasons in Turin, Ogbonna won two Serie A titles, the Italian Cup and Supercup and was an unused substitute during their 3-1 Champions League final defeat against Barcelona last month. "I am delighted to have joined the Club," the Italy international, capped 10 times, told the club's official website. "I wanted to play in the Premier League and am happy to be in London. My heart told me that the right decision was to play for West Ham United. "I cannot wait to start working under (new manager) Mr (Slaven) Bilic and with my new team-mates. I feel ready for this new adventure." West Ham finished 12th in the Premier League last season but parted company with manager Sam Allardyce and replaced him with their former defender and Croatia international Bilic. The east London side completed a 4-0 aggregate victory against Andorran club Lusitans on Thursday to reach the second qualifying round of the Europa League. (Reporting by Tom Hayward, editing by Alan Baldwin)